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Dutch digital security provider Gemalto is to provide South Africa’s Standard Bank with a multifunction contactless payment card enabling users to pay for transit fares and other goods and services with one digital wallet. Standard Bank customers can now use the new MasterCard debit card to wave and pay at the gates in the public transport stations, without needing to carry cash or a separate travel card. The bank says the "Muvo" card initiative will help cardholders gain greater convenience while at the s

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is undertaking a pilot project to test the next generation of a road usage charge system designed to address funding gaps caused by a rise in fuel efficiency and a decline in gas tax revenue. Around forty volunteers have begun testing the new system, where, instead of paying the gas tax, automatically added at the pump, pilot participants will pay a per mile charge based on the number of miles they drive. The charge is roughly equal to the amount of gas tax the

UK company Chargepoint Services has partnered with France-based DBT to distribute their Rapid Charge Unit for electric vehicles. The DC chargers can recharge an electric vehicle, such as the Nissan Leaf, to approximately 80 per cent battery capacity in just 20-30 minutes, but costs around 60% less than other rapid chargers currently on the market today. The company says this could help revolutionise electric vehicle travel, making longer journeys “range-anxiety free” by bringing refuelling times closer to

Lisbon city council in Portugal is to set up a new CCTV system in order to monitor the road traffic on the streets of the capital. The system will help the council to enforce traffic penalties on drivers of old pollutant vehicles who are banned from certain central areas, the Reduced Emissions Zones (ZER). ZERs were implemented in 2011 for vehicles with registrations prior to 1992; this was later extended to include cars registered before 1996. However, the city council’s lack of resources means that to da

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has highlighted the importance of road safety in preventing more than one million people from dying and many more from getting injured each year in traffic accidents. “This year, the world's roads have claimed some 1.2 million lives,” Mr. Ban said in his message marking World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. “Added to the fatalities are the more than 50 million people injured each year – many of them now condemned to enduring physical disabilities and psychologic

In an effort to reduce pedestrian accidents in the city, the Board of Road and Greenery of Gdansk in northern Poland has installed number of intelligent pedestrian crossings in the Zaspa and Przymorze districts. Talking devices have been installed at tram crossings and use induction loops installed in the tracks to detect trams and warn pedestrians, via a voice message, of their approach.

As part of a larger effort exploring the effects of roadway signage on driver behaviour, researchers from the University of Minnesota College of Design have conducted a study on the effectiveness of intelligent lane control signals (ILCS). During the study, was funded by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), the research team used a driving simulator to test ILCS that displayed merge, speed control, and lane-closure warnings over freeway lanes. The researchers were specifically interested in d

Travelling in some Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses in Mysore, India, will now be hassle-free, thanks to the launch of what is said to be India's first Intelligent Transport System (ITS). The system will enable passengers across the city to have the arrival and departure of buses at their fingertips. It will cut down passenger waiting time provide details of bus movements either by sending an SMS or through the interactive voice response system (IVRS).

In the US, NaviGAtor 511, Georgia’s traveller information system, has partnered with Waze to provide enhanced traffic information. Waze, a crowd-sourced social GPS and real-time traffic application for smartphones and Android phones, will provide enhanced traffic data to the current 511 system, and create a special 511 user group, specifically for Georgia travelers, within the existing Waze mobile app. The arrangement was provided for under an existing marketing contract with Iteris, the firm that has opera

Swedish parking equipment manufacturer Cale Group has announced its acquisition of the Dutch Redline mobile enforcement solution, a paper-free solution built on embedded Oracle technology, which enables mobile enforcement officers to issued digital fixed-penalty notices for offences such as parking violations, and process fines. The company will develop and market the Redline system from its newly-acquired office in Woerden, in the Netherlands.

Clearview Traffic Group has announced the appointment of Stephen Ladyman as strategic advisor. Stephen will facilitate closer working relationships with government, key agencies and large enterprises across the transport sector. A former scientist and Minister of State for the UK Department for Transport, Stephen brings with him a wealth of both private and public sector experience, including Member of Parliament for South Thanet from 1997 to 2010.

Utah State University (USU) in the US has developed what it claims is the first and only wirelessly charged electric bus designed and developed exclusively by a North American research organisation. Nicknamed the Aggie Bus, the new vehicle is also the first of its kind in the world to achieve key performance standards for a wirelessly charged vehicle.

US-headquartered ITS specialist TransCore is to design, implement, and maintain a state-of-the-art, radio frequency identification (RFID)-based parking and car/bus terminal access control system for authorised staff personnel of the New Doha International Airport Authority. The company was selected by Amana-Walbridge Joint Venture to install the system that will be operational during the second quarter 2013.

The Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) is increasing its investment in the development of electric vehicles and machinery, battery systems and components. In addition to the expansion of the vehicle laboratory in Otaniemi, a new battery laboratory was opened in September to support the research and development of electric commercial vehicles. The laboratories will provide an opportunity to integrate the study of electric vehicles and their power generating components, such as electric motors, elect

Denmark’s second largest city has installed the BlipTrack Bluetooth based traffic monitoring system to monitor travel times and traffic flow. The sensors have been installed at strategic locations around the city and following eight months of testing, the company says the non-intrusive system provides the same information as alternative and more expensive solutions such as ANPR and loops. Sixty sensors are currently installed around the city to monitor travel times, detect changes in traffic patterns and w