News

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has reselected Atkins as its state-wide prime consultant for toll-plaza planning, development, and implementation. Under the terms of the five-year, US$10 million contract, Atkins will provide planning, development, infrastructure design and coordination, and construction oversight services, as well as system installation, integration, and testing services for TxDOT toll and managed-lane facilities throughout Texas. TxDOT currently operates more than 493 lan

Siemens UK has been awarded one of the largest electric vehicle (EV) projects funded by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles, the installation of a complete EV charging solution for Bristol City Council, South Gloucestershire Council and Gloucestershire County Council who are all members of the Source West consortium. A total of 15 multi-standard triple-outlet rapid chargers will be installed in strategic locations in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire with connection to the Pay As You G

The twelfth annual Civitas forum will take place in Casablanca, Morocco from 23 to 26 September. Its main theme will be accessibility and social inclusion, key factors in urban mobility and city planning. All Civitas and EuroMed stakeholders are invited to attend the conference and benefit from the rich 4 days-programme. Further details of the programme and calls for speakers will be announced shortly.

Three additional companies have partnered with the AT&T Drive Studio, said to be a first-of-its-kind connected car centre for innovation and research in Atlanta. "This is an exciting ecosystem and we are committed to leading the way to take the connected car to the next level for auto manufacturers and their drivers," said Glenn Lurie, president, AT&T Emerging Enterprises and Partnerships, AT&T Mobility. "That's the essence of the AT&T Drive Studio, to bring together the best players in the auto industry

The EU funded Innovative Transport SME Support Action (INTRASME) SME Opportunity Workshop in Berlin on 3 April 2014 will provide small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with an opportunity to understand the electric vehicle supply chain and how it can differ from the more traditional internal combustion engine vehicle supply chain process. The workshop, co-located with Supercapacitors Europe, will focus on the marketing opportunities for SMEs in the light carbon vehicle, light aircraft and smart mobility sec

Despite a five per cent decrease in revenue in the last quarter of 2013, US$6.5 million compared to US$6.8 million in 2012, Image Sensing Systems (ISS) posted an increase in total revenue for 2013, at US$26.3 million, up five per cent from US$25.0 million in 2012. Full year 2013 product sales increased 17 percent over 2012, to US$14.7 million, while Autoscope licence plate recognition (LPR) 2013 product revenue grew 34 percent over 2012, to US$6.4 million. The company continues to invest in research, de

The US Department of Transportation has made US$600 million of funding available to fund transportation projects across the country under a sixth round of its highly successful Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) competitive grant program. The TIGER 2014 grant program will place an emphasis on projects that support reliable, safe and affordable transportation options that improve connections for both urban and rural communities, making it easier for their residents to reach wor

Automotive electronics supplier Visteon Corporation has entered into an exclusive agreement with telematics provider Autonet Mobile, in which Visteon will integrate Autonet's telematics technology into Visteon's next-generation products for global vehicle manufacturers. Under the agreement, Visteon will lead design and integration efforts with global vehicle manufacturers and Autonet Mobile will provide software, Internet Protocol (IP) and network operation services. The two companies will provide veh

Transport ministry officials in Cyprus have launched the Channel programme, a real-time traffic monitoring system that aims to alert motorists through smart technology of delays, traffic jams, accidents, road works and parking spaces. Part of the Cyprus-Greece Cross-Border Cooperation Programme 2007 to 2013, the channel programme is 80 per cent EU-funded. The objective is to improve traffic conditions on major roads in Cyprus. Drivers will be able to access the system via internet, mobile phones and t

Digital security solutions provider Oberthur Technologies and Ficosa have teamed up to launch an emergency call system for the Russian automotive market, Era Glonass. The Era Glonass system is the Russian equivalent of the European eCall system and is planned to be implemented in Russia from January 2015. According to the National Entity of Russian Navigation (NISS) it is intended to reduce emergency services’ time-to-arrival by up to 30 per cent, saving up to 4,000 additional lives each year. The in-

Transport planning software company PTV Group has launched an online survey, 'The Strategy – How Cities Manage Traffic' (link http://vision-traffic.ptvgroup.com/index.php?id=8553), in an effort to discover the strategies used by the world’s cities and local authorities in planning their transport strategy. The survey covers actual requirements and the measures taken to achieve set goals on optimising driving speeds, increasing road capacity and moderating the effects of congestion; changes to mobility pl

The European Commission has announced the six finalists of two awards which honour the actions of European cities in developing and promoting sustainable approaches to urban mobility. This year’s Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) award recognises cities with SUMPs illustrating the ‘integration of economic, social, and environmental policy criteria’, the theme of the 2013 awards. The award is presented to local authorities which demonstrate excellence in developing and implementing their sustainable

Two states in the US, Florida and New York are working to reduce the risk of accidents caused by wrong-way drivers. In Florida, a six-month study conducted by Dr Haitham Al-Deek of the University of Central Florida found that only 10 per cent of drivers who witness a wrong-way driver called the police. The study does show that the number of ticketed wrong-way drivers has increased since 2005 and so have the calls to 911 reporting those drivers. "I do believe they happen more than

A two-year experiment by the Danish road directorate shows accidents have fallen on single-carriageway rural roads and motorways where the speed limit was raised. Since the speed limit on some stretches of two-way rural roads was increased from 80 to 90 km/h, accidents have decreased due to a reduction in the speed differential between the slowest and fastest cars, resulting in less overtaking. The slowest drivers have increased their speeds, but the fastest 15 per cent drive one km/h slower on average

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide a funding contribution of US$292 million towards the completion of the motorway link between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The project includes the completion of the M8 motorway between Scotland’s two largest cities and major improvements to the M73 and M74 to reduce congestion and safety and improve travel times on one of Scotland’s busiest road networks. “The European Investment Bank is committed to supporting crucial investment in essential infrast