Skip to main content

News

May 21, 2015
First pan-London Car Club Action Plan launched
Around 85 per cent of UK car club members already based in London New plan will help reach new joint target of one million London car club members by 2025 Future growth of car clubs will help improve London’s air quality and reduce congestion in the Capital A new ‘strategy for car clubs’ in London has been launched today (21 May), to encourage residents and businesses across the capital to sign up to car club schemes as an alternative to direct car ownership. The new action plan, jointly developed b
May 21, 2015
Red light violations increase during summer driving season: report
The US National Coalition for Safer Roads has released new data on red-light running, which revealed an increase in the number of violations that occurred during peak periods of summer travel in 2014. According to the statistics, more than 3.7 million drivers in the United States ran a red light in 2014. A large percentage of these violations occurred during the peak summer travel weekends of Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day. Red-light running incidents during each of these major summer t
May 21, 2015
New Jersey takes a high tech approach to smarter roads
IBM has developed a new transportation management solution to help minimise congestion and improve traffic flow for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA). The solution, which is part of NJTA's advanced traffic management program (ATMP), will serve both the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, two of the most heavily travelled highways and busiest toll roads in the United States. The system, which manages almost a thousand devices, provides traffic management professionals at the NJTA
May 21, 2015
Germany extends toll requirement
According to German toll company Toll Collect, the German government has put in place legislation which requires that from 1 July 2015 light vehicles using German federal trunk roads will be subject to toll. Vehicles with a gross weight of 7.5 tonnes or more will be included from 1 October 2015. Around 250,000 vehicles are expected to be affected, of which around 90,000 are from abroad. The toll also applies to combinations, i.e., trucks with trailers, which are heavier than 7.5 tonnes. The trunk road
May 21, 2015
Gatso USA awarded red light cameras contract in New York
Gatso USA has been selected by the City of Albany to install red light cameras at 20 of the city’s busiest intersections. The program will include 64 cameras across the 20 intersections. There is an expected two-month ramp-up period with a target start date for the initial units of 1 July. Along with public education materials and photo enforcement signage, drivers will have a ten-day warning period once the cameras are operational before the city starts mailing out actual notices of violation. Each vio
May 20, 2015
DriveNow London expands car-sharing fleet with EVs
London’s DriveNow has expanded its car-sharing service with the addition of thirty BMW i3 electric vehicles (EVs). , The BMW/Sixt joint venture offers one-way flexible car-sharing in the North London boroughs of Islington, Hackney, Haringey and Waltham Forest. Following its launch in December 2014, this takes the growing fleet total to 270 vehicles being used across the boroughs, offering residents and businesses a viable alternative to use of private cars with it's on demand, pay per use model. Commentin
May 20, 2015
Deloitte Research releases smart mobility report
Deloitte's Public Sector Research organisation has released a report titled, Smart Mobility: Reducing congestion and fostering faster, greener, and cheaper transportation options, which indicates that the expansion of alternative modes of transportation could lead to reduced congestion and other benefits, and identified the types of transportation suited to a city or suburb. The study uses geospatial analytics, such as coupling location data with existing government data, to examine the potential conges
May 20, 2015
Daimler debuts autonomous truck on US roads
Daimler Trucks has become the world’s first manufacturer to be granted a road licence for an autonomous heavy-duty truck. The state of Nevada licensed two Freightliner Inspiration trucks for regular operation on public roads. The first journey in the Freightliner Inspiration truck equipped with the intelligent Highway Pilot system for autonomous driving took place on US highway 15 in Las Vegas.
May 20, 2015
Swarco puts the DVSA in control with new prism sign installation
Five prism signs have been installed Swarco Traffic to manage traffic control approaching an Enforcement Checksite operated by the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) on the M74 motorway in Scotland. The signs have been installed at strategic points along the M74 by Beattock Summit to guide heavy vehicles into the nearside lane and direct selected vehicles into the weighbridge and inspection area. The signs feature a combination of control solutions with urban traffic management and control (UTMC)
May 19, 2015
First electric car ferry goes into operation in Norway
The world’s first electrical car and passenger ferry powered by batteries has entered service in Norway. The unique solution is a result of a competition that Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration launched in 2010. The ferry only uses 150 kWh per route, which corresponds to three days use of electricity in a standard Norwegian household. Built in conjunction with shipbuilder Fjellstrand, Siemens installed the complete electric propulsion system and install
May 19, 2015
ITF award for Estonian smart border crossing project
An innovative solution for managing traffic queues at international borders is the winner of the 2015 Transport Achievement Award offered by the International Transport Forum at the OECD. The Award recognises demonstrated achievement of excellence in transport provision that has improved, enabled or facilitated tourism. The GoSwift queue management service, an Estonian public-private partnership, allows pre-booking of time slots and virtual queuing for border crossings via the web, a call centre or self-
May 19, 2015
Key transport bodies join forces on Greater Manchester road network
Highways England and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding which will see the two bodies work in partnership to develop shared priorities and a long-term vision for motorways and key roads across the city region. The move follows the formation of Highways England earlier this year, a government-owned company with a five-year budget of over US$17 billion to invest in England’s motorways and major A roads. The new joint document aims to support economic growth in
May 19, 2015
Midlands Highway Alliance awards PSP contract to AECOM and Waterman
The Midlands Highway Alliance (MHA) has awarded AECOM and its supply partner Waterman Group a US$47 million professional services partnership (PSP) contract to deliver multidisciplinary professional design services. Under the three-year contract, which has the option to be extended by an additional year, AECOM and Waterman will support the 20 councils that are members of the MHA on highway projects across the Midlands. Formed in 2007, the MHA creates opportunities for local councils to collaborate in
May 18, 2015
LCRS members leading the way in reducing emissions
According to the FTA Logistics Carbon Review 2015, Logistics Carbon Reduction Scheme (LCRS) members are leading the way in making significant progress in reducing carbon emissions – compared to the rest of the logistics industry. Released at the Freight Transport Association’s annual Logistics Carbon Reduction Conference last week, the report incorporates the fifth annual results of the LCRS and reveals that the freight industry is contributing to national climate change reduction targets. Rachael
May 18, 2015
Panama's metro line 2 awarded
The concession to build Panama City's metro line No. 2 has been awarded to a consortium comprised of Brazilian company Norberto Odebrecht and Spanish infrastructure giant FCC. The 22 kilometre long elevated line will connect the city's northern and eastern sectors and line No. 1. The consortium, known as Consorcio Línea 2, offered US$1.86 billion for civil works, US$50.7 million for maintenance works, and US$214 million for financing, totalling roughly US$2.2bn, according to Metro de Panama.