News

New York Mayor Bloomberg has unveiled a new, technology-based traffic management system that allows city traffic engineers to monitor and respond to Midtown Manhattan traffic conditions in real time, improving traffic flow on the city’s most congested streets.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is planning to provide the Bulgarian capital of Sofia with a series of loans to support the modernisation of the city’s public transport system. The financial package of four loans worth a total of €24.96 million (US$35.6 million) will increase the quality, safety, accessibility and also the energy efficiency of transportation in the city.

A court-appointed trustee has selected Russian entrepreneur Boris G. Zingarevich, whose investment operations are based in St. Petersburg, Russia, as the winning bidder for Think Global electric vehicle manufacturer, following a bankruptcy proceeding initiated by the Norwegian carmaker last month. In addition, Zingarevich has signed a memorandum of understanding with American advanced lithium-ion battery maker Ener1, and Finnish automobile engineering and manufacturing concern Valmet Automotive, to cooperat

UK company, CA Traffic, having launched the Evo8 fully integrated Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system in 2009, has announced a number of evolutionary developments offering customers what it says are unique capabilities in the world of ANPR.

TransCore has announced it participated in two winning projects announced at the ITS New York 18th Annual Meeting and Technology Exhibition. Of the six projects to receive awards, TransCore participated in the Outstanding Project of the Year in Traffic Control Systems for Integrated Adaptive Traffic Signal Control Decision Support and the Outstanding Project of the Year in Roadway Management for the New York State Thruway's Woodbury Toll Barrier - Highway Speed E-Z Pass system.

The US Department of Transportation will be holding a free public meeting and webinar to provide details on the Connected Vehicle research programme. The public meeting will take place on 2-4 August, 2011, in Chicago and will include sessions related to connected vehicle safety, future policy implications for connected vehicles, and connected vehicle safety for commercial vehicles and transit vehicles. The webinar service will be available all day on August 2nd and 3rd and during the morning only on August

The US Department of Transportation will be holding a free public meeting and webinar to provide details on the Connected Vehicle research programme. The public meeting will take place on 2-4 August, 2011, in Chicago and will include sessions related to connected vehicle safety, future policy implications for connected vehicles, and connected vehicle safety for commercial vehicles and transit vehicles. The webinar service will be available all day on August 2nd and 3rd and during the morning only on August

Trimble has signed an agreement to acquire privately-held PeopleNet, a leading provider of integrated onboard computing and mobile communications systems for fleet management. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011.

The GCC Gulf Transport Report Highlights a massive programme of construction projects in hand in the Middle East. In the United Arab Emirates the report says that at present, there is over US$58 billion worth of road and bridge projects planned or underway. Abu Dhabi Roads Transport (DoT) has a master plan to develop surface transportation for the emirate. The project will be planned and implemented in collaboration with municipal organisations of different areas of the emirate. One of the most significant

ECOtality has announced a partnership with Car2go, a subsidiary of Daimler North America Corporation, to provide electric vehicle charging infrastructure to support what is being claimed as the first 100-per cent electric car sharing programme in North America. With plans for approximately 300 Smart Fortwo electric drive vehicles, the programme in San Diego represents the largest fleet of EVs in the United States.

Google has announced that it is making road traffic conditions available in 13 countries in Europe. The new traffic information is in the traffic layer on Google Maps, Google Maps for mobile, and Google Maps Navigation (Beta). Coverage includes all freeways and highways, as well as large roads in major cities in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland. Users in the UK will also benefit from a finer grain of street

The Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority (KABATA) has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for concessionaires to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain the Knik Arm Crossing under an availability payment public-private partnership. Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) are due 15 September, 2011 at 4:00PM Alaska Daylight Saving Time. The RFQ can be downloaded at http://notes4.state.ak.us/pn/pubnotic.nsf or interested parties can receive the RFQ by contacting Michele Casey at michele.casey@alaska

The California city of Los Angeles is expected to suffer unprecedented levels of road congestion this weekend. The city has some of the most congested stretches of highway in the US and arguably the world. However the need to demolish a highway bridge will result in a highway closure, including a key interchange that carries extremely heavy traffic volumes. The I-405 San Diego highway will be closed between the San Fernando Valley and the LA Basin.

The Zhong’nan Tunnel, sometimes referred to as the Qinling Zhongnanshan Tunnel, in Shanxi province, the longest two-tube road tunnel in the world, is one of eight projects where a total of 2,870 Infinova cameras of varying types and covering 830 km of expressways throughout the northern province of Shanxi in China, are deployed. Expressways, besides the Zhong’nan Mountain Tunnel include Shangman, Xihan, Baoniu, Weipu, Shangjie, Baomao and Tongxi. Infinova says that in addition to its cameras, the deployment

The UK Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that the number of people killed in road accidents reported to the police fell by 16% from 2,222 in 2009 to 1,857 in 2010 – the lowest figure since national records began in 1926. A total of 22,660 people were seriously injured in reported road accidents (a reduction of 8%) while 184,138 people were slightly injured (a reduction of 6%). The 2010 figures are significant because they confirm that casualty reduction targets set in 2000 have been surpassed.