The city council of Sao Paulo in Brazil is to launch a US$1.1 billion tender process to improve its bus capacity. The project will include four new bus lanes, refurbishment works on two existing lanes and the construction of five small bus terminals and two inter-municipal terminals. The current government of Sao Paulo city is envisaging the creation of 66km of bus lanes and the construction of nine bus terminals.
Meanwhile, the Governor of Sao Paulo has announced that the works for the extension of the Li
The New South Wales (NSW) government in Australia has acquired Metro Transport Sydney (MTS), owner of the light rail and monorail, for US$20.6 million. The acquisition will make it easier for the state government to remove the monorail, which is reaching the end of its economic life. The monorail is also not integrated with the wider public transport network in Sydney. The state government will now have greater flexibility in planning future public transport especially the proposed extensions to the light r
The city of Brussels has introduced a pilot scheme for motorbike taxis to operate in the chronically congested Belgian capital. Users of the motorbike taxis will be given helmets and leg protectors. The drivers have to be over 23 rather than over 21, as is the case with usual taxis, and the motorbikes cannot undercut the prices charged by normal taxis – they must charge the same. Six motorbike taxis have already gone into service out of a total of 13 that will be put into operation during the trial period.
North American company Pana-Pacific and Mobileye, headquartered in the Netherlands, have reached an agreement for Pana-Pacific to distribute Mobileye's ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) solution for collision avoidance and mitigation to the commercial vehicle market. Pana-Pacific's engineers will expedite pre-wired and factory-installed options of Mobileye products with all the commercial vehicle original equipment manufacturers while its aftermarket sales team will market Mobileye to all the heavy-
GE Energy Industrial Solutions has finalised an automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement for the sale and distribution of the GE WattStation wall mount electric vehicle (EV) charging station with EV manufacturer, Coda Automotive.
GE Energy Industrial Solutions has finalised an automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement for the sale and distribution of the GE WattStation wall mount electric vehicle (EV) charging station with EV manufacturer, Coda Automotive.
The South-Korean company Chungsuk Engineering has been awarded a contract to prepare the DPR for 136 km of the Bardibas-Simara-Birgunj section of the proposed Nepal's East-West electric Railway, writes Ram Krishna Wagle from Nepal.
To continue funding rapid growth and market expansion, DriveCam has entered into a definitive agreement to raise US$85 million in investment capital from Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe XI, (WCAS), a New York-based private equity firm.
Kathmandu metropolitan city is planning to operate a 24-hr metro bus system using double-decker buses that will carry more passengers and also provide night services, reports Ram Krishna Wagle from Nepal. An EOI for the operation of the metro bus has appointed a local company which plans to operate 10 buses initially. The company is funding the purchase of the metro bus from its own resources although the government has provided tax breaks for providing the service.
Parsons has been selected by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (PCJPB), which owns and operates Caltrain (the commuter rail line between San Francisco and San Mateo and Santa Clara counties), for design and installation of its $138 million interoperable communications-based overlay signal system positive train control (CBOSS PTC).
The government of Nepal has invited an expression of interest (EOI) from interested international companies for consultancy services for the detail survey and design of a 114km electrified railway Line from Simara to Tamsaria (114 km), Ram Krishna Wagel reports. The EOI also covers a 109km section of the proposed Mechi-Mahakali railway link to the border connection with India at Bhairahawa. Closing date of the EOI is 7 January, 2012 and full documents in PDF format, are available from Ram Krishna Wagel at e
PHH Arval has partnered with ZoomSafer to create what is being claimed as the fleet industry’s first smartphone application that detects when employees are driving and automatically encourages safe smartphone use.
The US Department of Transportation (US DoT) has selected the Battelle Memorial Institute to develop a new Transit Safety Retrofit Package (TRP) that will be used as part of the Safety Pilot model deployment. The focus of this procurement is to acquire a qualified team to integrate wireless Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) technology into transit vehicles and to develop research prototypes of appropriate safety applications on these vehicles. These applications must be interoperable with other ve
The San Francisco Bay Area's Clipper transit fare-collection programme has hit the magic one million active cards in circulation milestone. Staff at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) credit the surge to transit operator campaigns to transition more riders, especially youth and senior riders, from paper tickets and passes to the reloadable Clipper card before the end of the year.
A smartcard trial on Southern Railway has been officially launched by the UK transport minister, Norman Baker. ‘The Key’ offers rail passengers a quick and simple alternative to paper tickets and sees the installation of Vix smartcard platform validator units on the Coastway East service at stations between Brighton and Seaford.
