News

The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) has started work on a much-needed congestion relief project, using technology to improve traffic flow along a thirteen mile stretch of Route 22 in Somerset and Union counties. The US$7.77 million project will improve mobility along the entire corridor through the creation of an integrated system interconnecting eighteen traffic signals into one controlled traffic signal system (CTSS). This includes the complete replacement of the existing traffic signal sy

Portland, Oregon, public transit services provider plans to begin testing the new TriMet tickets mobile app later this spring that will allow riders to conveniently buy and use fares from their smartphones. The agency is now taking applications from volunteers for the beta test of the mobile ticketing app designed by local software company GlobeSherpa. Bus, Max and Wes commuter rail passengers will be able to buy fares instantly, anywhere, at any time using an iPhone or Android phone, by downloading the fre

In the US, a new car-sharing program provides businesses with on-demand access to both vehicles and office space. The Zipcar car sharing network, and workspace provider Regus have teamed up to offer a new national program to help businesses of all sizes across the country save money by paying only for what they use. Regus offers their customers the freedom of working when and where they want, while, by giving users on-demand access to a car, Zipcar for Business offers all the benefits of car ownership with

According to the 2012 Congestion Index from satellite navigation specialists TomTom, motorists in Bristol and Belfast now face the slowest moving traffic in Britain. Even London’s infamous rush hour is less congested than peak-time jams in cities like Manchester and Nottingham, the annual global traffic figures found. The index shows that the average journey for drivers in Belfast takes 32.1 per cent longer than it would do if traffic moved freely, while in Bristol, journeys take 31 per cent longer. Londo

Pitt Ohio, a transportation solutions provider headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, can now more proactively plan its business by creating routes, managing complex schedules, and monitoring progress throughout the day. The company has licensed Esri's ArcGIS for Transportation Analytics solution, powered by the ArcGIS platform. Pitt Ohio is a member of the Reliance Network, a group of regional carriers that work together to provide seamless service for customers. The company provides less-than-trucklo

London's commuters will be able to use their mobile phones and bank cards for travel across the city, if Transport for London's (TfL) plans come to fruition. Thousands of London bus users already pay their fares using contactless bank cards instead of TfL Oyster cards, which have been widely used over the past decade. Users pay different charges for different London Underground zones and for train travel, so TfL has to decide on suitable payment mechanisms, and could drive the widespread adoption of systems

Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is to expand the traffic information system on Interstate 66 (I-66). Motorists will now see travel times displayed on overhead message signs for the 35 miles from Washington to Haymarket. VDOT has been posting the number of miles and minutes to key destinations at three locations between the Capital Beltway and Gainesville since August 2011. Message signs will display the information at seven new locations. In addition, by summer, six more locations will be ad

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) today announced the hire of Sabrina Sussman as the association’s vice president for Membership and Development. Previously with the US Department of Transportation, Sussman will lead the strategic planning efforts and enactment of the ITS America Leadership Circle, as well as manage member recruitment, retention and services. ITS America’s president and CEO Scott Belcher stated, “Sabrina’s unique combination of transportation policy, strategic

Motorists in Abu Dhabi will now be able to get alerts about accidents and traffic jams from numerous variable message signs (VMS) currently being installed on the capital’s roads. At least 86 (VMS) will notify motorists of road blocks, construction and weather updates, giving them the opportunity to change their route if necessary. More than half will be equipped with traffic monitoring stations to record data from their areas and send the information to a central data centre. CCTV will also transmit road

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) producer BYD is to build an assembly plan in Lancaster, about seventy miles north of Los Angeles, to make electric buses for US and Latin American public transportation markets. The facility will be one of only a few making electric buses in the US, where most buses use diesel fuel or compressed natural gas. Michael Austin, vice president of BYD America, said Lancaster's aggressive embrace of solar energy programs was a factor in deciding to build the plant there. "They've been

Columbus, Ohio is to benefit from a US$38.1 million traffic management system to replace the one installed in the 1970s to allow the city to respond more quickly to problem areas and speed up travel throughout Columbus and even in its suburbs. The new system will wrap all signals into a single network. More data will funnel to new software in the traffic-management center, where operators can decide how to handle traffic congestion. Nearly 500 miles of fibre-optic cable will run to most traffic signals, and

Co-Cities Prime provides an opportunity for cities and regions which want to provide integrated multimodal transport and set up mobility services with the opportunity to equip their information systems with the Commonly Agreed Interface of Co-Cities supported by an experienced technology provider. Up to 50 per cent of the implementation effort will be contributed by the Co-Cities project. The call for participation is open from April 3rd to May 5th, 2013, and city administrations, urban transport authoriti

The challenging topic of tolling collection will be a priority theme at the 2013 National Electronic Tolling Committee Industry Forum (NeTC) to be held 22 and 23 May at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in Queensland, Australia. The forum will also feature a strong focus on government-industry policy development to facilitate systems deployment to maximise safety, economic, environmental and social benefits to transport in Australia and the Asia Pacific region. "The comprehensive forum program w

The next T3 webinar takes place on Thursday18 April 18 at 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm ET, and discusses Smart Traffic Management: Lessons from New York City's Midtown in Motion (MiM) project, kicked off in summer 2011 by the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The purpose of the MiM project is to promote multimodal mobility in the midtown core of Manhattan, a 110 square block area or zone from 2nd to 6th Avenues and from 42nd to 57th Streets. The MiM proj

Thales, as a member of the Eurodom consortium, has supplied communication, supervision, signalling and ticketing systems for line 2 of the Santo Domingo Metro in the Dominican Republic. The opening of the metro line, which crosses the city from east to west, is a key milestone in a national plan to improve public transport and relieve congestion on the road network. It connects to the north-south line 1 and once complete, will run for 21 km and will have twenty stations. Fourteen stations are now open and t