News

AeroVironment has announced that the BMW Group has selected it as the preferred provider of electric vehicle charging equipment, accessories and installation services supporting the introduction of the all-electric BMW ActiveE. This vehicle is the second phase of the BMW Group's electro-mobility development strategy and brings all-electric technology to a new class of luxury vehicles. ActiveE vehicles will be distributed in the major metropolitan markets of Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Diego, San

Traficon’s appearance at this year’s ITS America Annual Meeting coincides with the company’s 20th birthday, and its booth will feature a wide range of video detection products and solutions. Among them will be the company’s Video Image Processor (VIP) that combines traffic flow monitoring and automatic incident detection functionality in one single board. The VIP-T module analyses images from analogue cameras while the VIP-IP can connect to a broad range of IP cameras, supporting both MPEG-4 and new H.264 v

In Canada a new private toll bridge that links Montreal with Laval is now open to traffic. The bridge was opened two months ahead of schedule and features a sophisticated electronic tolling system. Bridge users mount transponders to their vehicles to pay for each crossing.

New data available from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) highlights the importance of transportation spending to US economic growth. This information can be sourced through a new Internet resource set up by ARTBA. The data has been revealed at a time when the multi-year highway/transit authorisation bill is still being discussed in the US Congress. The US secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, said at the CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2011 that he hopes a six year authorisation bill will

The organisers of the sixth Intertraffic Istanbul event expect the exhibition to be a major success. The exhibition space has doubled in size and the organisers say that this will provide an important platform for traffic professionals from Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The show features over 9,000m² of exhibition floor space and outside demonstration area. In all 200 exhibitors will attend from 15 countries. The international trade fair for infrastructure, ITS traffic management, safety and parking wil

Indonesia’s capital Jakarta suffers a heavy economic penalty for its chronic traffic congestion. This has been revealed by a new report from the Jakarta Transportation Agency, which says that the city loses some US$3.2 billion/year from traffic congestion. To deal with the problem the city authorities have a series of plans to upgrade the road system. The plans include building flyovers and widening roads, as well as constructing a further six inner-city toll roads.

Econolite has expanded its partnership with TrafficCast International and will integrate real time data from the TrafficCast BlueToad travel time module into its Centracs Advanced Transportation Management System (ATMS).

According to a report by Berg Insight, global shipments of GPS-enabled GSM/WCDMA handsets increased almost 97 per cent in 2010 to 295 million units. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28.8 per cent, shipments are forecast to reach 940 million units in 2015. The attach rates for wireless connectivity technologies in handsets including GPS, Bluetooth and WLAN are increasing steadily as the adoption of smartphones accelerates. These connectivity technologies are already a standard feature on hi

McCain has announced results measuring the effectiveness of its adaptive signal control software deployed on the city of San Marcos's new 'smart corridor'. The study revealed the system significantly improved traffic flow on San Marcos Boulevard, the second busiest arterial in San Diego County, California.

The International Roads Assessment Programme (iRAP) has appointed the Transport Research Foundation (TRF), the parent of TRL, as a new Centre of Excellence. A UK charity, iRAP has established a new way to inspect and measure the safety of roads. It recommends high priority improvements which will save the most lives for the money available. The iRAP methodology is being used by development banks and countries worldwide. During the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, 2011-2020, iRAP has set out its goal to

As part of its activities, the UK RAC Foundation (Royal Automobile Association) has published a research report, 'The Acceptability of Road Pricing' by Dr John Walker, which shows that paying for roads as you use them is common across the globe and that a significant number of schemes in operation have met a broad range of objectives without being prohibitively expensive. They have also been largely technically successful and once in place tend to gain public acceptance and support.

Equity Residential, a leading US owner and operator of apartment properties, and Zipcar have announced a strategic partnership that will expand the presence of Zipcar's car sharing services at Equity Residential apartment properties. As part of this agreement, Zipcar, which claims more than 560,000 members and over 8,000 vehicles in urban areas and college campuses throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, will provide vehicles onsite at Equity Residential properties in New York, Boston,

At last week's 32nd International Vienna Motor Symposium, the chairman of the Volkswagen Group, Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, announced that the group will be going into production with a range of important models with plug-in hybrid technology starting in 2013/14.

There’s a handy, free tool to help you make the most of your visit to the 22nd ITS America Annual Meeting and Exposition – a smarphone app, sponsored by IBM and Skyline Technology Solutions, that is compatible with iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android devices. Once loaded, you will be able to view the entire meeting program by day, track, or search by keywords; plan sessions, special events or workshops to attend; browse the exhibit hall and plan your time with vendors; rate the sessions you attend and prov

WebTech Wireless, a provider of vehicle fleet location-based services and telematics technology, has received a four-year contract from the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (FWTA), in Texas, to implement its NextBus Real-Time Passenger Information System (RTPIS) on an enhanced bus route. This will use nine dedicated buses equipped with NextBus GPS units, plus 17 NextBus LED signs installed at selected high-volume bus stops. The company also will implement its telephone information system to provide Fort