UTC

The conditions for a successful transition to electrification as an alternative to fossil-fuel powered vehicles were the main focus of the fourth European Electromobility Stakeholder Forum. Three European Commission flagship projects on electromobility, FREVUE, I-CVUE and ZeEUS organised this key annual event in Brussels this week, which brought together over 200 representatives from government, industry, academia, and other stakeholders. Opening the event, Magda Kopczynska, director for Innovative

As part of its overall plan to promote cycling, the Finnish capital Helsinki has introduced a public bike-share program that is linked seamlessly with the metropolitan area's multi-modal public transportation system. Launched at the beginning of May 2016 with 500 three-speed, adult-sized bikes and 50 docking throughout the inner city, the program will expand to 1,500 bikes, 150 stations and to further city districts in 2017. The Helsinki metropolitan area public transportation system incorporates a

Under a contract awarded by the Netherlands Railways (NS), Royal HaskoningDHV has been measuring the pedestrian flows of Amsterdam Central Station since the beginning of May. The data enables NS to optimise the often complex pedestrian flows at this station, thereby improving comfort and safety of the 250,000 daily visitors of Amsterdam Central Station. Royal HaskoningDHV has implemented a range of technologies that are already in use other stations in the Netherlands, including tracking and counting se

Inspired by the aviation industry, a new vehicle developed by Highways England to help replace overhead signs is set to reduce the duration of roadworks. The vehicle is based on the design of an aircraft catering vehicle, which loads refreshments into aeroplanes using a hydraulic scissor lift. Traditionally, signs are taken down and installed using a flat-bed truck, crane and cherry picker, taking up to 40 minutes. However the new Maintenance Assistance Vehicle (MAV) can do this in around 20 to 25 min

Opening the 2016 General Assembly of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Smart Cities and Communities (EIP SCC) which aims to improve urban life through more sustainable integrated solutions in transport, energy and ICT sectors, European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc challenged cities and companies to cooperate across borders, to accelerate and scale investment. She said: "Cleaner air, safer transport networks, reducing congestion, optimising use of existing infrastructure – these are just

Go Travel Solutions has announced four new partnerships with UK bike suppliers to promote cycling as an option for workplace travel and commuting. The partnerships, with Cyclepods, Beat Bikes, 50cycles and Brompton Bike Hire, will provide UK employers and their staff with access to discounts on bike storage equipment, folding bikes and electric bikes to encourage experienced and new cyclists to bike to work. The offers will be available to all new and existing members of the Smartgo workplace travel sche

A new traffic safety system installed on The Dartford Crossing, the busiest estuarial crossing in the UK, is benefitting from a high quality public address (PA) system to communicate with drivers in the event of an incident. To combat the noisy road and traffic conditions, PEL Services installed a Bosch Praesideo digital PA system, with master and slave network-controllers and incorporating ambient noise sensing to automatically adjust sound levels to compensate for substantial variations in the levels o

On 20 May, the Automobile Club Albania (ACA) received the European Road Safety Charter’s Excellence in Road Safety Award for best practices. For the 2016 awards, the Charter had chosen to award actions on youth and innovation. Selected from nearly 100 entries, the ACA education campaign targeted children from 5 to 12 years old and included the broadcasting of a series of cartoons on national TV channels, in schools and in kindergartens. In future, the programme is to be gradually introduced in primary s

UK Road safety charity Brake is concerned by worrying new figures showing car traffic reached a new peak in 2015, with overall traffic increasing by almost 19 per cent since 1995. According to UK government statistics, the number of vehicle miles travelled grew by 1.1 per cent in 2015, to 247.7 billion, slightly higher than the previous peak in 2007. Van traffic has continued to grow more quickly than any other vehicle type, rising 4.2 per cent from 2014 levels. Lorry traffic saw the largest year-on-year

The city of Moscow has been awarded the International Transport Forum (ITF) 2016 Transport Achievement Award for its exemplary approach to improving traffic conditions in the Russian capital. Following twenty years of almost uncontrolled development of urban traffic, Moscow introduced a rigorous and comprehensive set of policies to address the gridlock on its streets. These included paid car parking, development of public transport, ticketing, car sharing and taxi reform, development of cycling and envi