News

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has announced a US$119 million injection of cash for the country, along with plans to make roads safer for those on two wheels. US$119 million will be divided between Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Newcastle, Bristol, Cambridge, Oxford and Norwich, while the New Forest, Peak District, South Downs and Dartmoor will each share a slice of US$26 million funding for national parks. With local contributions, the total new funding for cycling is US£229 million between now and 2015.

According to a major Japanese newspaper, Japanese carmakers see potentially profitable business opportunities in the south-east Asian EV market, with the Philippines and Laos keen to introduce electric vehicles and make EV production a key industry. The Philippines is about to embark on a programme to replace its conventional petrol-driven tricycle taxis, widely used for transportation over short distance, with EVs. With loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Philippines will invest US$500 million

The HeERO consortium is to hold the second HeERO international conference at the Novotel Hotel, Bucharest, Romania on 21 November 2013. Attendees will be able to get an update on the status of eCall deployment in the HeERO pilot sites, together with the outcome of interoperability testing. The conference will also discuss any revision to eCall standards and recommendations for the large scale implementation of the eCall service in Europe. Live eCall demonstrations will be staged on 22 November by the Roman

The UK Home Office has introduced a new code of practice for the use of surveillance cameras in England and Wales which states that CCTV cameras should be used to protect and support people, not to spy on them. The code says “The purpose of the code will be to ensure that individuals and wider communities have confidence that surveillance cameras are deployed to protect and support them, rather than spy on them.” The Home Office developed the code “to address concerns over the potential for abuse or misuse

Preliminary data collected by the US National Safety Council indicates deaths from motor vehicle crashes during the first six months of 2013 are down 5 per cent, compared to the same six month period last year. In 2013, an estimated 16,620 traffic deaths occurred from January through June, compared to 17,430 in 2012. Definitive reasons behind the decrease are not known. "The Council will be keeping a close eye on our monthly traffic fatality estimates to determine if this decrease is just a blip on the rad

Roads in Cumbria damaged by devastating flooding in 2009 are to be repaired thanks to government funding. Cumbria County Council is set to receive a further US$9.6 million to allow repairs to be carried out to highway slopes, enhanced drainage, culvert repairs and repairs to footways and bridges, transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has announced. McLoughlin continued: “Reliable local highways are crucial to communities and provides important links for people to work, shops, services, families and friend

Buying an electric car may seem to be the green option when the energy label states Zero CO2 emissions. But that’s not the whole story when you factor in the electricity required to charge the batteries, and associated CO2 emissions created in electricity generation; the green benefits then become less clear. According to Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), the latest Renault Clio 4, dCi 90 ECO, emits 83 grams of CO2 per kilometre travelled. In comparison the Electric Nissan Leaf, requires 173 Watts of elec

Cycles are a popular form of transportation in Japan. However, they can take up a lot of public space when parked. Japanese construction company Giken has come up with the answer; its Eco Cycle is an anti-seismic automated underground storage system. Buried eleven metres below ground, Eco Cycle has a capacity of around 200 cycles and each one takes around thirteen seconds to store. Users attach a sensor to their cycle, which alerts the Eco Cycle centre that a cycle is on its way. The user then rolls the f

Industrial camera manufacturer Basler has presented its figures for the first half of 2013, showing an increase in orders of 16 per cent to US$45.5 million from US$38.4 million for the same period in 2012. The group's sales of US$43 million were 28 per cent above the previous year of US$33.7 million. Earnings before tax (EBT) rose by 77 per cent to US$5.2 million over 2012’s figure of US$ 2.9 million. "The robust incoming orders, the smooth introduction into the market of important new products, and the p

The new traffic management centre (TMC) being set up in Bangalore, India is intended to take enforcement to a new level, enabling city police to watch at least 275 traffic junctions in the city and even issue tickets from one control room. With a huge video wall at the control room and high-end cameras on the roads, they can even zoom in on the offender's face. Cameras installed across the city will beam live images to the video wall, where around 40 police officers will analyse this data real time. If ther

Technology installed on the toll system in the Czech Republic by Kapsch TraffiCom is identifying seven to ten wrong-way drivers per month, according to says Ctirad Weissmann, director of the National Transportation Information Centre. Kapsch and the Czech Road and Motorway Directorate (ŘSD) received the prestigious Czech Transportation Technology of the Year 2012 award for the project. The system for the identification of wrong-way drivers has been part of the Czech toll system on highways D1, D2 and D5 sin

Iteris has upgraded its Vantage detection solutions with Vantage Velocity 2.0, which includes several enhancements to its Bluetooth-based travel time system. Vantage Velocity, Iteris’ Bluetooth-based travel time system, employs sensors installed at defined segments along the road to capture the identity of passing Bluetooth-enabled devices. Utilising advanced algorithms, the host software analyses the matches between sensors to create accurate real-time speed and travel time data on freeways and arterial ro

The city of Gumi, South Korea is proving that solutions for future energy and transportation problems are happening now, with the online electric vehicle (OLEV), developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). OLEV is an electric vehicle that can be charged while stationary or driving, removing the need to stop at a charging station, nor does an OLEV tram require pantographs to feed power from electric wires strung above the tram route. OLEV receives power wirelessly through the

Siemens is to supply the IT and communication technology for Hong Kong's East-West Line. The order, worth around US$39.92 million, from local metro operator MTR Corporation, includes the supply of the station management system, which controls and monitors functions such as emergency call points, traction power supply, tunnel ventilation, overhead line fire detection, passenger information systems and escalators. Hong Kong's East-West Line is being created by connecting the West Rail Line to the Ma On Shan L

Cubic Transportation Systems has voiced its opposition to the proposed cuts in pre-tax benefits for the Transit Benefit Program available to citizens who use public transportation. Within the Senate Finance Committee, Senators are considering reducing the pre-tax benefit to individuals using public transportation from its current US$245 per month to US$125 per month, close to a 50 per cent cut. Cubic believes it is in the Committee’s best interest to maintain the current transit benefit since promoting pub