News

The UK government Transport Select Committee has published its report on Smaller Airports, which report identifies how air passenger duty affects the smaller airports sector and examines how smaller airports might benefit from airport expansion in the south-east. The report also explores how the Government can support regional connectivity and calls on the Department for Transport to assess whether some new slots could be ring-fenced to support regional connectivity. In its oral evidence to the committee, t

Carlson Vehicle Transfer (CVT), a provider of road transport and logistics services to the automotive industry, has adopted a 3G camera solution from Intelligent Telematics designed to minimise insurance costs, reduce accident rates and support driver training. Under the agreement, the IT1000 forward-facing camera will be fitted across 65 vehicle transporters within the company’s general and premier fleet to capture and provide immediate access to footage of any road collisions, near misses or harsh driving

After a successful year in both product development and sales, transportation systems specialist Aldis has changed its name to Gridsmart Technologies, which it says more accurately reflects the company’s goals, product line and identity. Gridsmart Technologies developed the Gridsmart System, a tracking-based vision solution for actuation and data collection at intersections and highways. The system uses a single camera with an ultra-wide angle lens to track all movement in its field of view, which allows f

The Medina Metro Development Authority (MMDA) has awarded Egis, in association with Systra, a contract to carry out the design studies for the future metro network in Medina. The contract covers three lines (green, blue, red) stretching a total of 95 kilometres, including 25 kilometres underground and 48 kilometres overhead. The project is part of an ambitious plan initiated over the past few years by Saudi Arabia to develop and modernise its transport infrastructure. As the second holy city in the country,

The EU's TEN-T Programme is to provide over US$4 million of funding for a study and pilot on the development of alternative refuelling infrastructure on the main Dutch highways. A network of greener and cheaper liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied bio gas (LBG) service stations will help to prepare the roll-out at European level. The project aims to pave the way for the European deployment of LNG/LBG as a fuel for medium and long haul road transport. To this end, the project will pilot the construction

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Strategic Analysis of Big Data in Rapid Transit, finds that global annual rail investment in big data will reach over US$2.14 billion by 2021. Investments will grow at a minimum of 60.3 per cent. The study covers hardware, big data distributions, data management components, analytics and visualisations, and services. The global rail market offers huge opportunities for big data technology providers. As some of the signalling equipment on rail networks is nearly 80 years o

The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has been commissioned by the Highways Agency to undertake a feasibility study into whether dynamic wireless power transfer (WPT) technology can be used on England’s motorways and major A roads, the Strategic Road Network, to prepare for and potentially encourage, greater EV take-up. This study is the first part in a much larger programme of research and trialling for dynamic WPT technology to be undertaken in the UK. TRL was selected to deliver the feasibility st

The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) has outlined a detailed proposal it believes could end the political impasse over how to fund future federal investments in state highway, bridge and transit capital projects. The ‘Getting beyond gridlock’ plan would marry a 15 cents-per-gallon increase in the federal gas and diesel motor fuels tax with a 100 per cent offsetting federal tax rebate for middle and lower income Americans for six years. The plan, ARTBA says, would fund a US$401 bil

The Indiana Finance Authority (IFA) and Ohio River Bridges Joint Board have again selected Kapsch TraffiCom to manage and maintain an all-electronic toll-collection system for the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project. Kapsch TrafficCom was selected from among three bidders who participated in the proposal process. A joint evaluation committee, made up of officials from both Indiana and Kentucky, scored the proposals based on the best value. Kapsch TrafficCom's proposal estimate was US$41.5

The Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) have outlined plans for eight new pilots of 20mph speed limits on the TfL road network (TLRN) as part of continuing work to reduce road casualties, increase active travel and enhance the areas where people live, work and shop. The first confirmed pilot location is in Tower Hamlets, which is planned to be introduced in April when all borough roads in Tower Hamlets are made 20mph. Once implemented, the route could then be extended out to cover the wider Shore

Australian fund manager IFM Investors, on behalf of IFM Global Infrastructure Fund, has paid US$5.7 billion for the bankrupt Indiana Toll Road Concession, a 253-kilometre highway that runs from the border of Indiana and Ohio towards Chicago, giving it exclusive rights to operate and maintain the road for the next 66 years. The road, previously jointly owned by Macquarie and Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial, went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September due to poor traffic volumes and was put up for sal

Car and ride sharing is just one example of the new on-demand economy allowing real-time matching of supply and demand through connected smartphone applications. According to ABI Research, successive forms of vehicle sharing approaches represent paradigm shifts in uptake and popularity; each new generation seeing adoption rates at least an order of magnitude larger than the previous: Car sharing 1.0 - street rental service: Cars parked on the street can be located, unlocked, used, and left behind. Examples

Camera-based driving assistance systems supplier Mobileye and Valeo have joined forces to combine Mobileye's EyeQ family of microprocessors and computer vision algorithms with Valeo's driving assistance sensor portfolio. Under the cooperation agreement, Valeo, which develops driving assistance systems, will design and industrialise a range of front-facing camera solutions and sensor fusion products using Mobileye's EyeQ family of microprocessors and computer vision algorithms. The product portfolio will inc

A new survey from free legal information website FindLaw.com found that 52 per cent of Americans support the use of radar speed cameras, while 48 per cent oppose them. Advocates say the cameras increase safety, but opponents contend they are often little more than revenue grabs by communities seeking to fill their local coffers. Interestingly, there is a split between men and women on the issue – a majority of women support the use of speed cameras while a majority of men oppose it. Ohio recently adopted a

AGD Systems has a strategic new partnership with Qatar-based Traffic Tech Group to introduce its award-winning pedestrian detection solutions in the Middle East. Traffic Tech Group will be AGD’s exclusive global distributor for Puffin and Toucan pedestrian crossings in the region to increase pedestrian and cyclist safety and improve traffic flows. On-street trials of AGD-enabled Puffin and Toucan schemes commenced in November 2014 at a dual pedestrian crossing on the busy Al-Jazeera Al-Arabiya Road in Doha,