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A joint venture between Dominion University and Virginia Beach city planners, the Centre for Innovative Transportation Solutions, will soon be shaping the city’s transportation future using computer simulations. City planners envision that the centre can help answer all sorts of questions, including the best place to add lanes or build a new road, what the traffic from a sports arena would look like, or what contingencies are needed to prepare for an accident or natural disaster that shuts down a key road.

European and US experts in health, city planning, environment and transport recently met in Brussels at the Polis Environment & Health working group meeting to discuss integrating health aspects in transportation planning to improve urban mobility and gain substantial savings in public health. Brussels, Paris and London presented their policies and discussed the measures they had implemented, such as low emission zones, community travel plans, incentives for walking and cycling, awareness raising and promot

Europe’s Green eMotion project has announced the test phase of a project that will demonstrate Europe-wide roaming in an interoperable electromobility system and will provide access to new added-value services. Green eMotion will also support the promotion of cross-sector ICT standards for interoperability of electric vehicle (EV) services. Green eMotion is a major EU funded electromobility project; one of its objectives is to develop an IT system that defines the interfaces needed for pan-European electro

Drivers using the Windsor-Detroit tunnel linking Canada with the US will shortly be able to pay electronically on both sides of the border. Until now, electronic payment has only been available on the US side. Tunnel president Neal Belitsky said it’s part of a plan to eventually phase out tunnel tokens after 2013. “We’re going to be getting out of the token business,” Belitsky said. “It takes time to buy rolls of tokens. All that is going to disappear. If you look throughout the US or Canada, you can count

The latest study by IHS Research estimates detection sensor revenues declined by 4.3 percent in 2011 to US$102.2 million. However, recent events suggest demand for detection sensors, which are used to help optimise traffic flows and reduce roadway congestion, is likely to improve over the near term. The main cause for optimism is the recent and unexpected passage of the MAP-21 act by the US congress. MAP-21 legislation will set aside US$105 billion for improvements to America’s surface transportation infras

A new report by information service provider Global Information says that intelligent transportation systems (ITS) improve public transport and traffic management to reduce traffic congestion, promote smoother and safer driving and improve coordinate and overall smarter use of transport networks. The development of intelligent infrastructures – from roads to bridges – is primarily a governmental responsibility while the domain of developing intelligent vehicles belongs to the commercial side. Both private a

Vehicle charging systems provider ChargePoint has joined the Green Parking Council, a not-for-profit organisation providing leadership and oversight of the green conversion of parking facilities to sustainable, environmentally responsible assets. ChargePoint is the world’s largest network of independently owned charging stations for electric vehicles. As GPC’s newest Bronze Level member ChargePoint will encourage new, alternative parking practices and green conversion of parking facilities for electric vehi

Finland-headquartered environmental and industrial monitoring specialist Vaisala is to take to the road to demonstrate the functionality of its new mobile sensor technology to its customers in Europe during the winter. Starting in Vienna, Austria, Vaisala’s Tracks Across Europe mobile road weather tour will take vehicles equipped with the new Vaisala Condition Patrol DSP310 road surface monitoring technology through fifteen European countries that are especially prone to snow and ice. The tour will end at V

Swedish traffic enforcement supplier Sensys Traffic has been awarded a contract worth US$0.4 million by the Swedish Transport Administration for the monitoring of train pantographs using its Automatic Pantograph Monitoring System (APMS). APMS is designed to identify damage to pantographs and prevent overhead power wires being torn down. The system uses non-contact technology to analyse the condition of pantographs as the train passes at normal operating speeds up to 250 km/h. Once installed, the sensor is

Open Roads Consulting, US provider of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), has been selected by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to design and implement the Next Generation Advanced Traffic Management System (Next Gen ATMS). The project includes design, development, implementation, testing, maintenance and support for a single statewide platform to promote coordinated traffic management and operations across the state. Open Roads will design and implement the Next Gen ATMS using

Electric vehicle (EV) charging technology provider, OpConnect has introduced smartphone payment technology for its OpConnect network EV charging stations. EV drivers can use the OpConnect iPhone app, or other smartphone scanners to access free stations or to pay for a charging session at stations that require payment. Mobile payments are just one of many payment options available to OpConnect network members and non-members. OpConnect stations can be accessed in a variety of ways including using an email

Arcontia International, Swedish producer of contactless smart card readers and terminals, is to supply fare collection equipment manufacturer LECIP with a smart card based fare collection solution for the City of Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus (BBB) public transport operator. The system will be installed on Big Blue Buses operating throughout the City of Santa Monica and the greater Los Angeles area, providing transport to more than 20 million people annually. Arcontia contactless smartcard readers will be in

The 2012 ITS World Congress in Vienna saw the signing of a liaison agreement between TISA (Traveller Information Services Association) and the GENIVI Alliance. Signed by Thomas Kusche (TISA President) and Ton H. Steenman (Vice President, Intel Architecture Group, a founding charter member of the GENIVI Alliance), the agreement sets the framework for an exchange of TISA specifications between the two communities with the aim of harmonising protocols in the areas of common interest. More specifically, it is i

The first electric bus (eBus) to be used in Austria’s capital city of Vienna has been put into service by the municipal transport authority, Wiener Linien, the first operator in Europe to implement and integrate eBuses into scheduled service. Designed and developed by Siemens Rail Systems and bus manufacturer Rampini, the vehicle is the first of twelve with which Wiener Linien intends to move two of the city's bus services to electric power by the summer of 2013. The vehicle’s total energy requirement is st

According to a new report by Global Industry Analysts (GIA), the global Intelligent Transportation Systems market is projected to reach US$22.7 billion by the year 2018, driven primarily by the need to enhance road safety by efficiently managing traffic, enforcing speed limits and easing traffic congestion. Rising demand from developing nations to incorporate ITS solutions also bodes well for the future of the market. The report provides a comprehensive review of trends, product developments, mergers, acqu