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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,

A new two-year traffic monitoring partnership between Siemens and OptaSense, a QinetiQ company, has been agreed to further explore the performance and potential commercial deployment of OptaSense Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS), a fully networked traffic monitoring solution for the UK traffic industry. The partnership follows successful road monitoring trials by OptaSense in the UK and overseas comparing the performance of the DAS system with conventional inductive loop technology to provide information

The City of Norman, Oklahoma, is to deploy Econolite’s Centracs Adaptive as part of the City’s long-term Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) or ‘Moving Forward’ Plan in addressing its future transportation needs. Centracs Adaptive will first be deployed along Highway 9, a major corridor that serves a mix of residential and commuter traffic, as well as traffic to and from the University of Oklahoma. Highway 9 presents unique signal timing challenges. In addition to weekday commutes, the corridor experien

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Strategic Analysis of Real-time Traffic Information Market in Europe and North America, finds that the number of real-time traffic information subscribers in North America stood at 1.9 million units in 2014 and estimates this to reach 14.2 million in 2021. In Europe, the number is expected to go up from 2.2 million in 2014 to 10.2 million in 2021. With traffic expanding at three times the rate of the economy, the research says the need for intelligent systems like real-ti

On 10 March, the European Parliament approved amendments to the directive on the maximum authorised dimensions and weights for trucks and buses. The final agreement allows for much needed design adaptations to make cabs safer, but only following a revision by the European Commission of the cab type-approval. This means that manufacturers will not be required to implement these changes until 2022. It further retains each Member State’s right to decide whether or not they want to allow the use of mega trucks

Unveiled at the recent Geneva Motor Show, two concept tyres by Goodyear could radically change the role of car tyres in the future according to the company. The first concept, named BHO3, offers the possibility of charging the batteries of electric cars by transforming the heat generated by the rolling tyre into electrical energy. The second concept, Triple Tub, contains three tubes that adjust tyre inflation pressure in response to changing road conditions, delivering new levels of performance and versatil

As part of the Pozuelo Smart City project and to improve the usage of the new and existing parking capacity in the city, Madrid in Spain has implemented a new system which reduces search traffic by guiding motorists to free parking spaces. The real-time parking data is integrated with the Smart City platform from Wairbut, a CISCO certified partner. The city is using Nedap’s parking sensors which detect parking bay occupancy in real-time. Information on current availability is transmitted to the Pozuelo Smar

Swarco Traffic Systems has installed a total of 115 dynamic message signs at five parking areas along the A5 motorway in Germany to provided truck drivers with information about available parking spaces. The aim is to reduce the time spent in looking for parking spaces and increase traffic safety by enabling drivers to take mandated rest breaks. An online platform also provides drivers with real-time information on available parking spaces.

Traffic and Parking Control (TAPCO) has increased its product offering with the acquisition of California-based traffic industry manufacturer and supplier Hawkins Traffic Safety Supply, now operating as Hawkins Traffic, a division of TAPCO. TAPCO believes synergies between the two companies will better serve its customers nationally, while providing those on the west coast with additional traffic and parking control options. Hawkins has been manufacturing traffic control products for seven decades and will

According to new analysis from Frost and Sullivan, advances in sensor fusion technologies with high imaging capabilities to enhance manoeuvrability are quickening the development of unmanned vehicles. The resulting increase in the use of unmanned vehicles will eventually alter the dynamics of the transportation industry. The report, Innovations in Unmanned Vehicles–Land, Air, and Sea, finds that high-quality image and navigation sensors such as light detection and ranging systems, radar, and advanced global

Americans took 10.8 billion trips on public transportation in 2014, which is the highest annual public transit ridership number in 58 years, according to a report by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). “In 2014, people took a record 10.8 billion trips on public transportation -- the highest annual ridership number in 58 years,” said Phillip Washington, APTA chair and CEO and general manager of the Regional Transportation District in Denver. “Some public transit systems experienced all-ti