News

Expressway companies in Japan plan to rent out unoccupied space on their superhighways, like those on sound-insulating walls, throughout the country for utility companies to generate solar power.

Init Innovation in Traffic Systems has won a contract, worth over US$21 million, from the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport (DoT) under which the Karlsruhe-based telematics specialist will supply a telematics system as part of the DoT's master plan for the development of public transport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Siemens Industry has announced an agreement with Streetline, a leading provider of sensor-based smart parking solutions in the United States, to jointly market a range of smart parking products and services for municipalities, airports, universities and private parking operators.

The state of Western Australia (WA) has announced funding worth US$7.69 million to refit 1,800 taxis in the state with surveillance cameras to boost security.

Q-Free has received an order, valued at approximately US$26.5 million, from the Portuguese road operator Ascendi for a major infrastructure project in Portugal.

The Indian government has appointed the UK-based Urban Light Transport PRT (ULTra PRT) to study the feasibility of operating driverless pod taxis at Gurgaon in Haryana state of India.

The incidence of drugs among drivers injured or killed in road accidents is in the range of 14-17 per cent, according to a new report published by the International Transport Forum, a transport think tank at the OECD. Cannabis and benzodiazepines top the list of drugs involved in lethal motor accidents, according to the study.

The 2010 Urban Mobility Report, published by the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University, concludes that after two years of slight declines in overall traffic congestion - attributable to the economic downturn and high fuel prices - leading indicators suggest that as the economy rebounds, traffic problems are doing the same. While 2008 was the best year for commuters in at least a decade, the problem again began to grow in 2009.

Telvent and IBM have announced that together they will develop smarter traffic solutions that are affordable and customised for small cities, university and government campuses and business districts. The solution can integrate and analyse data traffic control, road sensors, bus schedules, real-time GPS location and IBM's advanced analytics.