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The ITS Hall of Fame Awards highlight the successes of the most outstanding, ambitious and innovative ITS deployments and reward the people and organisations most worthy of recognition and praise. European winners of the 2015 awards include Richard Harris, who received the Lifetime Achievement award for his charisma and ITS leadership for over 25 years. The local government award went to AustriaTech, which supports the Austrian Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology and relevant stakeholders in al

French public transport company Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) and Tunisian public transport operator Transtu have signed a five-year cooperation and partnership agreement that will help foster exchanges between the two companies to improve their respective networks and enhance efficiency. Cooperation between the two companies will address various transport-related activities including operations, maintenance, safety, security, passenger information and ticketing and employee training. Th

The laser ranging (LIDAR) systems that most self-driving cars rely on to sense obstacles can be hacked by a setup costing just US$60, a security researcher has told IEEE spectrum. According to Jonathan Petit, principal scientist at software security company Security Innovation, he can take echoes of a fake car, pedestrian or wall and put them in any location. Using such a system, which he designed using a low-power laser and pulse generator, attackers could trick a self-driving car into thinking somethin

The 8th European Conference on ICT for Transport Logistics (ECITL) will be held in Bordeaux from 5 to 7 October 2015 with the theme of Intelligent logistics solutions – a catalyst for digital economy. The ECITL is co-organised by Ertico-ITS Europe under the auspices of the CIP Pilot CO-GISTICS. The conference will look at in-depth technologies as intelligent transport systems (ITS), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), etc., which are not only essential for the introduction of e

Drawing on its experience with optical disc technologies consumer electronics giant, Pioneer Corporation is developing a 3D-LIDAR (light detection and ranging) compact, high performance low-cost sensor for autonomous vehicles. The company has completed trial manufacture of the sensor and will begin in-car trials in 2016. During the in-car trials, Pioneer will launch advanced map creation using mapping vehicles fitted with 3D-LiDAR, with Increment P Corporation, its map creation subsidiary. In the near fu

US systems integrator Parsons has been selected by Metra, Chicago’s commuter rail operator, to install positive train control (PTC) technology on its commuter rail trains. PTC, which is federally mandated, is high tech collision avoidance technology that monitors and controls train movements. It is intended to prevent train to train collisions, over-speed derailments, incursions into established work zones, and movement of trains through a main line switch left in an improper position. As prime contra

Alstom Transport has awarded Indra a US$3 million contract to develop and implement the ticketing systems for the first trolley line currently under construction in the Algerian city of Setif. With a total length of 22.2 kilometres, the Setif trolley line project is being undertaken by Entreprise du Métro d’Alger (EMA), which has subcontracted the construction to Alstom Transport and the construction company Yapi Merkezi. Indra will supply ticketing systems for the 27 stations and four interchanges p

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a senior loan of US$44.5 million to finance the modernisation of Kosovo’s railway infrastructure, deepening regional integration and strengthening the country’s economic development. The loan to Infrastruktura e Hekurudhave të Kosovës (Infrakos), the national railway infrastructure company, will provide funding to upgrade Kosovo’s only international rail link, Rail Route 10. The 148 kilometre-long line is divided into three section

The latest report from Reportlinker analyses the Australian intelligent transportation systems (ITS) market and indicates that the total market is expected to reach US$1,130.2 million by 2020, at a CAGR of 14.41 per cent between 2015 and 2020. The market for the application of advanced public transportation systems is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.90 per cent during the forecast period. The increasing demand for the use of technology in public transportation for vehicle location and real-time information

Berlin has become the first capital city to introduce a wirelessly charged electric bus, as part of a project funded by Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. The Berlin Transport Authority, Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) has introduced four Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses equipped with the Bombardier Primove inductive charging system and traction equipment from Vossloh Kiepe. The buses now operate on the 6.1 kilometre line 204 between Südkreuz and Zoologischer Garten (Hertzallee). Vos

The US Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will launch a multi-faceted Expedited Public Transportation Improvement Initiative (XPEDITE) on 8 September with the aim of gaining comment from the transit industry and others interested in public transportation on ways to improve program delivery.

The implementation of smart motorways in Northern Ireland would make economic, environmental and safety sense, according to the Freight Transport Association (FTA) today. Responding to a study commissioned by the roads authority, TransportNI, which outlines the proposal of the M1 and M2 in and out of Belfast becoming smart motorways, FTA stated that freight operators would see benefits in the introduction, economically, environmentally and would improve safety on the routes.

Kapsch TrafficCom has secured five new contracts in Chile through a subsidiary and will carry out a technology upgrade of the existing tolling system on 900 kilometres of the famous Pan-American Highway Ruta 5. Kapsch will also be responsible for the maintenance of the new system for five years. The combined value of the contracts amounts to more than US$9.9 million and includes the upgrade of 320 lanes and 90 toll plazas in Ruta del Maipo, Ruta del Maule, Ruta del Bosque, Ruta de la Araucanía and Ruta de l

This year’s European Transport Conference, which takes place on 28-30 September in Frankfurt, Germany, will look at the latest research and developments in local public transport across Europe and beyond. Delegates will also have the opportunity to take part in an afternoon visit to see the public transport system in Offenbach, a small city close to Frankfurt. With the UK moving towards a regulated environment, the conference will discuss the legal and economic framework and how this will work as other

Dutch access control specialist Nedap has supplied its ANPR Access licence plate recognition system for use at Lithuania’s border with Belarus and Russia, where kilometre-long queues of vehicles were commonplace, with waits of up to six days at peak times. The system is integrated with the new queue management service (EVIS), developed by GoSwift, which enables motorists to pre-book their border crossing by entering their details and vehicle registration online, with the option to pre-book a slot or join