News

Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) has teamed up with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to undertake a four-year project to test connected vehicle technology on a portion of I35 in the state. Funded by a US Department of Transportation (USDOT) grant, the US$2 million project, called I-35 Connected Work Zone, will initially focus on improving freight movement along the construction corridor by providing long-haul trucks a steady stream of traveller information through on-board devices c

The city of Bristol in the UK is to pilot the latest green technology for buses thanks to a US$1.5 million grant from the Government to coincide with the city’s year as European Green Capital. Baroness Kramer, minister of State for Transport, announced today that Bristol will receive funding to purchase a number of new hybrid buses which can switch from diesel to electric automatically in low emission zones. The grant from the green bus fund will be used to purchase a number of hybrid buses with geo-f

American Traffic Solutions (ATS) has announced its latest agreements with new and existing clients. The city of Federal Way, Washington, an ATS client since 2008, has signed a new three-year agreement with an optional three-year extension, to continue its red-light and school zone speed safety camera programs. Additionally, Charles County, Maryland, executed a one-year renewal of its road-safety camera program, extending its original 2009 contract. Head Start of Washington County, Maryland, has

In a bid to reduce road casualties, the Tasmanian Government is installing eight new fixed speed camera sites across the State, adding an extra dimension to its key road safety focus on safer speeds. Police Minister Rene Hidding said the new camera system, which has been approved in consultation with the Road Safety Advisory Council, will complement the existing sites on the Tasman Bridge. The project will be implemented by Tasmania Police and will be funded with US$382,000 from the Road Safety Levy.

Transport for London (TfL) has awarded Siemens a contract to upgrade and operate the capital’s detection and enforcement infrastructure (D&EI) contract for the next five years, including the supply of equipment, systems and services for monitoring traffic as part of TfL’s low emission zone (LEZ) and congestion charging schemes. Commencing in January 2015 with the implementation phase, the new agreement includes the replacement, support, maintenance and operation of instation systems and services includi

Vix Technology has been named Global Ticketing Partner for the Transport Ticketing & Passenger Information Expo and Conference Global Series in 2015 and will provide all delegates with a smart card ticket at the exhibition in London on 27-29 January. It is the first time that delegates will ‘tap-in’ and ‘tap –out’ at entry validators as they move throughout the exhibition and conferencing areas and in doing so qualify for competitions and incentives. The feature will give attendees first-hand experience

ESP Group has been appointed by the UK’s Rail Settlement Plan to provide personalisation, encoding and fulfilment services for a major smartcard programme that will simplify travel for millions of passengers on the UK’s busiest train network. The company’s smartcard operation Systex will produce and issue a range of powerful contactless smart tokens for short and long term use that will include high capacity microprocessor cards, lower capacity smart tickets, wristbands, key fobs and accessories. The

In the US, Q-Free Open Roads has begun the year with an order for advanced transportation management systems (ATMS) valued at US$1.5 million from West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH). “We are proud to see WVDOH continues to retain Q-Free Open Roads, which deployed the initial state-wide ATMS, the backbone of the West Virginia ITS program, in 2008,” says Q-Free CEO Thomas Falck. The collaboration between Q-Free Open Roads and WVDOH has resulted in many successful ITS initiatives West Virginia, i

Following targeted long-term marketing efforts, Sensys Traffic has succeeded in winning an order for traffic safety systems worth US$754,000 from a customer in Qatar. The Middle East is now Sensys’ second largest market and the order from Qatar means the company now has customers in eight of the region’s 14 countries. In light of this development, Sensys has decided to establish a local presence in the Middle East during 2015, in order to better meet demand from both existing and new customers. The mai

Econolite Group has appointed Mark Nogaki as its vice president of sales, responsible for the company’s worldwide sales program, reporting directly to Econolite Group president and COO David St Amant. Nogaki will be responsible for driving Econolite’s domestic and international sales programs to the next level. His track record with companies such as Toshiba, Raytheon, Cambio Technologies and ClosingCorp will be vital in helping Econolite identify and realise key business development objectives to meet t

Google and various automakers have increased their activity and investments toward the goal of self-driving vehicles, while Google has shifted from its previous strategy to now focus on fully driverless vehicles for the future. If successful, it will have significant implications for the auto industry, according to IHS Automotive, based on findings in its new report, Autonomous Driving: Question is When, Not If, which is an update to a previous report issued early in 2014. OEMs remain geared toward aug

French public transport operator Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) is to invest a record US$1.95 billion in 2015 in the Ile-de-France region for network expansion, modernisation and maintenance. This includes investment in extension of RATP-operated networks, replacement, modernisation and increase of rolling stock, modernisation of systems and investment in the railway network, tram and bus networks, and passenger information systems and services. “Thanks to support accorded by STIF, the

The High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh, represented by Arriyadh Development Authority, has awarded a significant contract to Trapeze Group, a division of Constellation Software's wholly-owned subsidiary, Volaris Group, for the provision of a comprehensive intelligent transportation system (ITS). The ITS solution for Riyadh is designed to help to improve the efficiency of both fixed-route and flexible public transport services in the area and includes automated vehicle management and real-ti

Audi and Inrix have joined forces to introduce Inrix XD Traffic services to Audi vehicles in North America, available in model year 2015 Audi vehicles with Audi connect. Inrix XD Traffic services cover more than two million miles of road in North America, including highways, ramps, interchanges, arterials, city and other secondary roads, delivering real-time navigation information, including routes, travel times and alerts to incidents on the road. The addition of Inrix XD Traffic to the Audi connect

US Senator Bernie Sanders is to introduce legislation when the new session of Congress convenes this month to authorise a US$1 trillion, multi-year program to rebuild crumbling roads and bridges and invest in other infrastructure modernisation projects. The investment not only would begin to address a growing backlog of badly-needed repairs, it also would put 13 million Americans to work at decent-paying jobs, according to Sanders, who will take over this month as the ranking member of the Senate Budget