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Q-Free has received an extension order valued at US$1.9 million from the Swedish transport Administration (Trafikverket) for service and maintenance of the on-going Gothenburg congestion charging project. The order will be delivered within the end of 2017. Congestion charging was introduced in Gothenburg in 2013, with the Stockholm congestion charge as a model. The primary purpose of the congestion tax is to reduce traffic congestion and improve the environmental situation in central Gothenburg and to get f

According to a new market research report ‘Automated Passenger Counter and Passenger Information System Market by Application (Railway, Roadway, Airway, and Waterway), by System (Hardware, Software and Services), by Component and Device; and by Geography - Global Analysis and Forecast to 2020, the automatic passenger counting market is expected to reach US$194.17 million by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 22.2 per cent from 2014 to 2020; whereas, the passenger information system market (PIS) is anticipated to re

A US$30 million fund will be made available to local authorities to support the rollout of ultra-low emission taxis across the UK. The money will be available to reduce the upfront cost of purpose built taxis and to install charging infrastructure for taxi and private hire use. A further US$37 million has been set aside specifically for the Greater London Area to help taxi drivers cover the cost of upgrading to a greener vehicle. All taxis will also qualify for the government’s plug-in car grant, whi

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Strategic Analysis of the US Automated Fare Collection Market in Rail and Urban Transit Systems, finds that the market earned revenues of US$324.5 million in 2014 and estimates this to reach US$634.8 million by 2021. The rising cost of fare management, coupled with the increasing presence of computing, sensors and connected devices, have made public transit systems more accessible to end users, thus boosting interest in automated fare collection (AFC) systems. With 33

Alstom has been awarded a contract worth US$9.7 million from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to provide receiving and auxiliary main substations for the Kochi metro. The contract includes high voltage cabling from the state grid for the new 25 kilometre long metro line. Under this new contract, Alstom is responsible for the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of 110kV cabling incoming from the grid, including civil works, intake power substations and their associated power transformers a

Two major companies in the field of signage systems for highways, urban and rail sectors have joined forces, Variable Message Signs Limited (VMSL) and Techspan Systems, creating a stronger business with a broad product range and an extensive technical capability. Following the acquisition of VMSL in 2014, Hill & Smith Limited realised the opportunity to create a world class provider of variable message signs and systems as part of its HS Roads Technology Division. The new combined business will operate und

With 16 million UK motorists set to take to the roads this Easter weekend, a new European survey finds that risky driving habits and failure to respect the rules are on the increase. The annual survey carried out for Vinci Autoroutes Foundation for Responsible Driving by IPSOS examined the behaviour of drivers from ten European countries. Each year, this survey draws up an inventory of driving practices and trends, allowing closer targeting of methods to prevent irresponsible driving and promote safer ro

AlMadinah AlMunawwarah Development Authority (MMDA) has appointed professional services company Louis Berger as program management office consultant (PMOC) for implementation of the AlMadinah AlMunawwarah Public Transportation Program (MPTP) in Madinah, one of the most ambitious transportation infrastructure initiatives in the Middle East. The value of the PMOC contract is approximately US$100 million. The contract will extend over a five year period, during which time Louis Berger will support and assis

Honda has announced a joint venture with the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) to test its driverless Acura RLX sedan at the Concord Naval Weapons Station in California. In conjunction with the City of Concord, Honda will use the newly branded GoMentum Station test-bed site at the CNWS to advance its technologies. Honda also plans to participate in a consortium committed to making Contra Costa County home to a premier testing facility for automated drive technologies. GoMentum Station, a

Kapsch CarrierCom and the Algerian railways operator SNTF (Société Nationale des Transports Ferroviaires) are to partner in a joint venture in to make the Algerian railway system fit for the future. The Rail-Telecom agreement anticipates a knowledge transfer initiative, the supervision and maintenance of the Algerian railways telecommunication networks, including the nationwide Global System for Mobile Communications - Railway (GSM-R) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) fiberglass backbone, and futu

The International Bridge, Toll and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) has applauded the Grow America Act 2.0 just released by the US Administration and US DOT. It says that once again, the Administration has boldly called for lifting the ban on Interstate tolling for the purpose of reconstruction, giving states greater flexibility to meet their challenging infrastructure and surface transportation needs. The six-year, US$478 is said to be US$126 billion more than current investment levels and US$238 billion mo

Trafficware’s release of its Synchro plus SimTraffic Version 9.1 traffic optimisation and simulation tool adds traffic impact analysis (TIA), a feature designed to assess the adequacy of existing or future arterial traffic generated by proposed property developments. Synchro’s traffic impact analysis will streamline traffic engineers’ workload by automatically generating routes into and out of a proposed development, automating calculations for trip assignments and distributions and facilitating planni

ASECAP, the association of European tolling companies, has published a report which outlines the challenges facing authorities and tolling companies in the European Union in complying with the Directives 2014/23/EU and 2014/24/EU. The new directives come into force in April 2016 and refine and strengthen the definition of a concession and establish procurement rules for contracting authorities in respect of public contracts. One of the key areas in defining a concession is that the concessionaire must b

TomTom’s today 5th annual Traffic Index, the barometer of traffic congestion in over 200 cities worldwide, reveals rising congestion levels around the globe In addition, for the first time, the Index took an in-depth look at the true impact of rush hour traffic on the work week, uncovering that evening rush hour nearly doubles the journey time for car commuters. The analysis of 12 trillion pieces of traffic data worldwide revealed that the evening rush hour is the most congested time of day. Traffic co

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have found a method of combining vehicle-level data with less precise, but more comprehensive, city-level data on traffic patterns to produce better information than current systems provide. They claim this reduce delays, improve efficiency, and reduce emissions. The new findings are reported in a pair of papers by assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering Carolina Osorio and alumna Kanchana Nanduri, published in the journals Tra