News

Sam Schwartz Engineering (SSE)’s Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan for the Barclays Center, a multi-purpose indoor arena in Brooklyn, New York was recently pronounced a success in headlines across the city. The arena hosts the National Basketball Association’s Brooklyn Nets, as well over 200 other annual events including concerts, conventions and other sports. It is within walking distance of eleven New York City Transit (NYCT) subway lines, directly across the street from a Long Island Rail Road

The Polis Traffic Efficiency & Mobility Working Group has been working on the topic of open transport data for more than eighteen months, with the aim of sharing information among Polis members on local experiences of publishing transport data, lessons learned and future plans. Polis has now issued its position paper, detailing the knowledge shared and the insight gained into the fast evolving area of open data, which has enabled it to produce informed recommendations to the European Commission in relation

A new app that integrates real-time arrival information for Ireland’s national travel services all in one place, the Real Time Ireland app, is now available for free, for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. The Real Time Ireland app shows combined transport updates from Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, Luas, DART and Irish Rail and allows users to set alerts to inform them when their bus is ten minutes, twenty minutes or thirty minutes away from a certain bus stop. For GPS-enabled devices, it can also inform users w

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) congratulated Anthony Foxx after the US Senate voted to confirm him as the next Secretary of the US Department of Transportation. Patrick D Jones, executive director and CEO of the worldwide association representing toll facility owners and operators and the businesses that serve them, said: “IBTTA congratulates Secretary Foxx on his confirmation today as the next US Secretary of Transportation. Secretary Foxx’s leadership comes at a time whe

Cubic Transportation Systems, MasterCard and Money Network are to partner in a program to launch what is said to be the largest open transit fare payment system (OSFS) in the US. The Ventra card is about to make its debut with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and suburban bus operator Pace, giving customers two new options to pay for train and bus rides. The Ventra card features two accounts - a closed-loop account for transit payments and an optional reloadable prepaid card that can be used for everyday

More than 160 senior delegates from the automotive and transportation industry met last week to present, discuss and invent the future of mobility during Frost & Sullivan’s interactive workshop Urban Mobility 3.0: New Urban Mobility Business Models. The two-day event summarised the current and future developments in the industry and highlighted new and innovative mobility concepts. Frost & Sullivan Partner and Global Practice Director, Sarwant Singh, opened the debate at the House of Commons in London, com

The UK’s underused M6 toll road could be opened free to drivers stuck in congested traffic on the M6, it has been revealed. Toll road operators Midland Expressway have reportedly offered to clear the path to help relieve traffic jams on the M6 if the Government releases it from its commitment to part-finance the M54 link road. The company, a subsidiary of Australian company Macquarie Atlas Roads, has debts of £1.03 billion, which mature in 2015, and as part of its 50-year concession agreement would have to

More cameras and sensors are to be installed in Chesapeake, Virginia, in an effort to prevent traffic bottlenecks throughout the city. The city won a US$2 million federal grant to update the traffic management centre (TMC). The plan calls for adding about twenty cameras at key intersections, together with additional traffic sensors at intersections to aid the timing of traffic signals. Several intersections on main roads are already linked by wireless communication. The TMC serves as the command and control

The Department of Transport (DoT) in Abu Dhabi has begun the installation and deployment of a traffic control system (TCS) in Mohammed Bin Zayed City, at a cost of around US$20 million. The system is now operational at seven of the city’s 34 intersections following a pilot project and includes the deployment of smart and integrated traffic/pedestrian signals as well as a video surveillance system. The system will help enhance traffic in the city by reducing congestion, boosting the safety level for all road

In a deal worth around US£7.8 million, Siemens is to supply one of Poland’s most densely populated cities, Bialystock, with an inner-city traffic management system to optimise the growing volume of private vehicle traffic and increase the efficiency of its public transportation. Siemens’ Sitraffic Concert traffic management system will be installed to improve traffic flows. A new traffic management centre will receive data from more than 145 intersections, outstations, red light enforcement systems or publ

In a bid to tackle the growing problem of collisions caused by deer, transport officials in the Japanese island of Hokkaido have taken drastic action. As well as spraying wolf urine near roads and railways they will also be broadcasting the roar of lions to try to keep the deer away. A spokesman for Nexco East, which runs the island's highways, said: 'Even though we have increased the height of fences to 2.5 metres from 1.5 metres, fences sometimes break because of heavy snow, so we need this stop-gap measu

UK company Xylem Water Solutions has invested in TomTom fleet management technology to improve customer service and boost its green credentials, by rolling out an advanced TomTom system, featuring integrated tracking, navigation and vehicle diagnostic devices, across its 192-strong commercial fleet. TomTom’s ecoPLUS fuel diagnostic device reads fuel consumption data directly from vehicles on the road to help optimise mpg. This information, along with data on speeding, harsh braking and steering, is fed bac

Mexico City is to benefit from the latest public transport management technology, thanks to a contract recently awarded to Spanish consultancy and technology company Indra. The contract, valued at US$20.8 million, covers the supply, installation and commissioning of Indra’s comprehensive Operations Assistance System (OAS) for the city’s Metrobús system, together with technical support and maintenance for a period of ten years. The 95 km system has 151 stations and carries over 800,000 passengers per day.

Drivers using the 495 Express Lanes high occupancy toll road in north Virginia will benefit from the announcement that the speed limit is to be increased 65 miles per hour. The speed increase follows extensive safety studies and will help drivers save even more time when travelling on the Capital Beltway. The speed limit on the mainline Beltway lanes will remain at 55 mph. The 495 Express Lanes operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Dynamic pricing based on real-time traffic conditions manages the de