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February 8, 2013
2012 US Urban Mobility Report published
Researchers at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) have come up with a way to measure the unreliability of trip times due to traffic congestion. The Planning Time Index (PTI) illustrates the amount of extra time needed to arrive on time for higher priority events, such as an airline departure, just-in-time shipments, medical appointments or especially important social commitments. If the PTI for a particular trip is 3.00, a traveller would allow sixty minutes for a trip that typically takes twenty
February 7, 2013
EU announces finalists in EMW and SUMP awards
The European Commission has announced the six finalists in two awards focused on raising awareness of and developing sustainable and environmentally-friendly approaches to mobility. The European Mobility Week (EMW) award scheme rewards the local authority deemed to have done the most in raising public awareness of sustainable mobility issues and implementing measures to achieve a shift towards sustainable urban transport. The winning city is chosen by an independent panel of transport experts who assess all
February 1, 2013
Hyderabad gets ‘smarter’ traffic management
Hyderabad, the capital and largest city of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, is implementing a smart traffic management system, H-TRIMS (Hyderabad Traffic Integrated Management System), at 221 intersections in the city. The new signalling system uses high-intensity LED traffic signals, countdown timers, solar power battery backup facility, directional signboards and footpath railing, among other amenities. For the first time, pedestrian crossing signals will also be implemented, with an audible
February 1, 2013
Traffic sensors give cyclists green lights
Transport officials in Columbus, Ohio, are following in the footsteps of Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon and Berkeley, California and recalibrating their traffic signal sensors to accommodate the growing number of cyclists in the city. Nearly all the city’s 1,000 traffic lights are connected to road sensors that detect the presence of vehicles at the intersections and adjust the lights accordingly. Cycles are another story; they don’t contain enough metal to trigger the sensor. This has caused some cyclis
January 31, 2013
LaHood steps down as Transportation Secretary
US transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced that he will not serve a second term in President Obama’s Cabinet. LaHood, one of the few Republicans in Obama’s Cabinet, said he will stay in his position until his successor is confirmed. “It has been an honour and a privilege to lead the department, and I am grateful to President Obama for giving me such an extraordinary opportunity,” LaHood said in a statement to Transpiration employees. “As I look back on the past four years, I am proud of what we h
January 30, 2013
EU Compass4D project begins work
The new EU co-funded project Compass4D recently launched by Ertico-ITS Europe is designed to prove the benefits of cooperative systems and deploy services for road users to increase road safety and energy efficiency, while reducing the level of congestion in road transport. Compass4D target users are drivers of buses, emergency vehicles, trucks, taxis, electric vehicles and private cars. They all need information to make their driving safer, less stressful and more energy efficient. As a consequence, bus dr
January 30, 2013
Schneider Electric to create smart cities in China
Schneider Electric is using its expertise in developing smart mobility management systems and smart transportation systems in a collaboration with Chinese cities of Liuzhou and Wuzhou to transform mobility management in these cities and improve urban efficiency by optimising city building administration. Schneider will implement its efficient building management solutions and SmartMobility technology that it says will enable local authorities to reduce current traffic delays by over 35 per cent and achieve
January 29, 2013
California DOT installs driver information signs
California DOT (Caltrans) is installing electronic message signs in an effort to prevent or reduce congestion on the heavily used Interstate 10. Vehicle detection systems have also been installed on the 133 mile stretch of freeway to monitor traffic. The detection systems monitor speed and traffic volume, processing the data and transmitting it to the freeway message signs to give motorists real-time journey time estimates. "Changeable message signs will allow us to deliver information directly to drivers
January 29, 2013
Manchester to get intelligent transport system
The UK’s Transport for Greater Manchester is planning a "Dynamic Road Network Efficiency and Travel Information System Solution", designed to enable the administration and delivery of schemes to improve the management of the transport network in Greater Manchester. The city is tendering a contract worth up to US$23.5 million over six years to build an intelligent transport system, covering active traffic management of the highway network, traffic signal priority measures (initially for the local bus network
January 28, 2013
US DOT's ITS JPO selects dynamic mobility applications for development
The US Department of Transportation's (US DOT) Dynamic Mobility Applications program is exploring the future possibilities for connected vehicles where cars, trucks, buses, the roadside, and smartphones will talk to each other. They will share valuable safety, mobility, and environmental information over a wireless communications network that is already connecting and transforming transportation systems. Such a system of “connected vehicles,” mobile devices, and roads will provide a wealth of transportation