News

Launched by Osama Filali Naji, chairman of the ITS-Arab Transport Policy Working Group (TPWG) during the 10th ITS European Congress in Helsinki, the ITS-Index project has generated wide interest from the international ITS community. The project aims to develop a first-of-its-kind comparative index to evaluate and compare ITS competencies across regions with the objective of accelerating standardisation and encouraging ITS deployment that can improve transport management efficiency, safety and security.

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) and US automakers have responded to the announcement on legislation introduced by US Senators Marco Rubio and Cory Booker that would set deadlines on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for developing and publishing a test plan for the use of unlicensed devices in the 5.9 GHz band. The senators introduced S. 2505, the Wi-Fi Innovation Act, legislation to expand unlicensed spectrum use by requiring the Federal Communications Commissio

Having expanded its activities to the public transport sector, Kapsch CarrierCom’s public transport business unit has been successful in winning a US$13 million contract to implement a digital radio network based on the TETRA standard for Nexus, the strategic public transport body in the UK’s north-east. Based in Newcastle, Nexus owns and manages the Tyne and Wear Metro, which is used annually by 37 million passengers. The new digital radio system will be installed on the Metro’s fleet of 90 trains, repl

Cubic Transportation Systems has launched a subsidiary called Urban Insights Associates, a consulting and services practice that aims to help the transportation sector utilise stored data to improve the services offered to travellers. The transportation sector gathers large volumes of data on vehicle locations, passenger numbers, ticketing and fare collection as well as from scheduling and asset management systems. According to Cubic, this data has the potential for deriving insights into planning and m

The Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) has announced the inauguration of David Gibby as its new president for 2014/15. Gibby was welcomed into his role at a small Inauguration at CIHT’s central office in London. The new president’s theme for the year is ‘Making the Journey’, and over the next twelve months he will be exploring and developing the theme placing particular focus on: Making the career journey; Making transportation more accessible, focusing on improving access to our tr

Colombia's three airport concessions have shown significant growth over the past ten years, each increasing passenger flow by over 200 per cent, figures from the country's civil aviation body show. Bogotá's El Dorado international airport, which became a concession in 2007, grew 235 per cent, passing from transporting 7 million passengers in 2003 to transporting 25 million in 2013. Meanwhile, Cartagena's Rafael Núñez airport grew 224 per cent from 1 million passengers in 2003 to 3.3 million in 2013.

The UK’s first free-to-use online freight journey planner has hit a key milestone with more than 35,000 routes generated and 90,000 visitors to the site. The journey planner, operated by PIE Mapping and delivered via the UK Haulier website, provides freight operators and drivers a way to plan routes tailored to their vehicle size automatically avoiding commercial vehicle road restrictions.

UK retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) is trialling the latest 360-degree camera system from Brigade and technology partner, ASL Vision, to further improve safety on its lorry fleet. As systems offering a surround view in a single image become more widespread on rigid trucks, M&S wants to find out if the benefits can be extended to articulated vehicles. An initial trial was set up using the Backeye 360 Elite system from Brigade Electronics with powerful software from ASL Vision at its core. The trial is now to b

Testifying on the future of surface transportation before the US House Committee on Science, Space and Technology’s Subcommittee on Research and Technology, Toyota vice president Kristen Tabar, from the Toyota Technical Centre said Toyota is leading the way to ensure the next generation of vehicle communication brings the highest levels of safety, quality, and convenience to consumers. As cars become more connected to each other and the world around them, a new set of benefits and challenges have emerged.

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) has announced its winners of the 2014 Toll Excellence Award competition that recognises excellence, innovation and achievement in the tolling industry. Winning agencies and projects include:

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) has announced its winners of the 2014 Toll Excellence Award competition that recognises excellence, innovation and achievement in the tolling industry. Winning agencies and projects include:

Public transport usage in the European Union is at its highest level since 2000, with almost 57 billion journeys made throughout the EU in 2012 according to a new study carried out by the International Association of Public Transport (UITP). UITP’s first annual publication tracking and analysing public transport demand trends in the EU member states studied the pace of growth in public transport journeys since 2000, reflecting fluctuations in the economic situation, the growth in urban population and emerg

Independent tests have shown that Image Sensing Systems’ Autoscope Ex-122 automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera and CitySync LPR engine exceed the new UK National ANPR Standards for Policing (NASP) performance requirements. Issued by Home Office on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the standards require fixed installation ANPR systems to achieve a capture rate of at least 98 per cent of vehicle licence plates passing the camera and a correct read rate of at least 95 per c

The Council General for Mobility and Transport of the EU Commission is currently performing a study to determine the impact of big data on the traffic and travel industry, particularly as it applies to the growing multi-mode sector. Claire Depré from the Council General for Mobility and Transport stated: “The overall purpose of this study is to accompany the Impact Assessment for the initiative on access and availability of multi-modal travel and traffic data in the EU. The aim of this initiative is to e

Swiss connectivity specialist TE Connectivity is to acquire Measurement Specialties for a total transaction value of approximately US$1.7 billion (including assumption of net debt). Measurement Specialties offers a broad portfolio of sensor technologies including pressure, vibration, force, temperature, humidity, ultrasonics, position and fluid, for a wide range of applications and industries. The combination of TE's sensor business with Measurement Specialties' range of sensors and sensor systems es