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According to a report from Pike Research, annual sales of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are forecast to reach 400,073 in the United States and 107,146 in Canada by 2020, but the real story of these sales is in the cities and utility service territories where the vehicles will be located. Pike Research has analysed PEV sales by state and across cities with more than 500,000 residents in the United States, plus forecasts for Canadian provinces and the seven largest cities in Canada. These forecasts were c

“Dan was an engineer who could dream, design and then sell. He loved to sell, and it came from a love to share. I'm sure that's what he's doing right now – selling and sharing. We loved his free spirit…you never knew what he was going to do or say next…he kept you on the edge of your seat. Dan had several careers throughout his life and he took the best from each one, using that to make his next career step even better. But at the end of the day, he was an engineer who loved to sell and share.” – Econo

Econolite Group mourns the recent passing of Philip Daniel “Dan” Fancher, founder, CEO and president of Wireless Technology, Inc. (WTI), who passed away on September 2, 2012. Dan was born in Tampa, Florida, on November 4, 1944. He spent many years in the electronics industry before inventing, developing and receiving a patent for the wireless technology-based products for his new company, WTI, which was founded in 1984. Dan was also on the front lines of making short-range wireless video transmission availa

Cyprus is to introduce a central Intelligent Transport System (ITS), which will inform drivers of traffic congestion via sms, radio or digital billboards. The project, which is expected to cost in the region of US600,000 is aimed at reducing congestion, improving road safety and reducing fuel consumption on the island. The system will also notify police and hospitals of road accidents, so they can respond faster.

A recent survey by the Washington-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a pro-transit environmental-advocacy group, found Americans favored more local government spending on buses, trains, and light rail by a wide ratio: 68 percent to 25 percent. But when asked how to pay for improvements in transit and highways, Americans said no to higher fuel and sales taxes, preferring systems that require developers and commercial landowners to foot the bill

UK company, CA Traffic has combined their Evo8 ANPR camera and Black Cat traffic monitoring technology to provide weigh in motion (WIM) and speed violation detection with high quality ANPR data. Both systems are configured with the local classification scheme, maximum road speed, vehicle speed and weight limits by class. Vehicle data (class, speed and weight) is sent from the Black Cat system to the EVo8, which checks for compliance with the data set for the road.

Swedish company, Sensys Traffic is to supply red light enforcement systems to the Royal Oman Police to boost traffic monitoring system in the city of Muscat, as part of a three party agreement with the police and its local partner, Trifoil. In a contract worth US$3.6 million, systems will be installed at complex crossroads in the city, using the company’s new RS242 radar to monitor violations, identify lanes and classify vehicles.

In China, Yunnan Investment Holdings Group and BYD have announced their intention to open new-energy vehicle manufacturing plants in Yunnan Province, expanding BYD’s EV and new-energy businesses into southwest China and neighboring Asian countries. The BYD-Yunnan cooperation will be developed in three stages, with BYD initially supplying Yunnan Investment Holdings

TagMaster, Swedish producer of advanced RFID solutions for railway applications, has received additional orders for the XT-3HD long-range RFID reader from Trafikverket (the Swedish Rail Administration), following successful field testing. The RFID readers are to be installed as part of Trafikverket’s nationwide system for tracking railway goods wagons on the main Swedish rail network. The XT-3HD long-range RFID reader is the heavy-duty model of TagMaster’s XT-series of UHF readers and is fully EPC Gen 2 (IS

TomTom Business Solutions, supplier of GPS and fleet management solutions, has announced an incentive program in conjunction with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to help New York commercial and government fleet operators improve fleet productivity and fuel efficiency. In partnership with the New York State Department of Transportation, NYSERDA is providing US$250,000 in funding toward this program which allows participating New York State businesses to receive special

German traffic solutions manufacturer, Jenoptik, which has already successfully installed systems in several Middle East states, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia, is to equip a further 600 sites in Oman with their latest speed and red-light monitoring systems. They will also provide assistance with planning, carry out training, upgrade existing systems, supply and install software for an efficient incident processing centre and support the commissioning process.

Members of the Slovak Parliament are assessing the new EU regulation which introduces the electronic safety chip as part of the mandatory car equipment from 2015. The chip is intended to save lives of car accident victims, as it will automatically call the rescue service in case in the event of a serious crash, relaying the time and place of the accident and exact location of the vehicle.

Ontario-headquartered Pelmorex Media, parent company of The Weather Network and MétéoMédia, has acquired Beat The Traffic, Californian provider of vehicle traffic reporting solutions for broadcast media and consumers. The acquisition gives Pelmorex Media a significant boost to its expertise in traveller information and access to technology and patents that will enhance the services that will be provided by Travelers Network, to be launched in late October. Travelers Network will be established as its own d

An traffic management solution to reduce queues and congestion around Barnsley, UK, designed and deployed by Siemens, has been selected as one of three finalists for the Highways Magazine Excellence Awards, Congestion Reduction Scheme 2012. Celebrating excellence and achievement, the award recognises traffic management schemes where innovation, design, technology, and changes to driver behaviour have improved traffic flow for road users. Award winners will be announced and presented at a special ceremony in

US headquartered Peek Traffic Corporation has announced that its VideoTrak-IQ video-based vehicle detection system has been approved by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). VideoTrak-IQ combines multi-channel viewing, easy set-up and multiple individual zone settings, and offers the ability to conveniently modify the configurations of up to 26 detection zones per channel. The colour camera delivers the powerful option of lens control over the coax. Zoom and focus settings can be controlled from