News

3M and Chesapeake Energy Corporation have announced an agreement to collaborate in designing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of compressed natural gas (CNG) tanks

Swedish company Edeva, which was hived off from Prodelox, has successfully tested a new traffic calming method in Linköping Sweden.

Dr Michael Milford from Queensland University in Australia has revealed details of research that dispenses with GPS satellite and uses cameras instead to make road navigation a far cheaper and simpler task.

OmniVision Technologies has announced that its flagship automotive image sensors, the OV10630 and the OV10635, have both received AEC-Q100 Grade 2 qualifications,

Surrey County Council in the UK is continuing to upgrade urban traffic control (UTC) with modern digital communications equipment.

Following a successful trial at eight locations across London in June 2010, pedestrian countdown technology will be rolled out at pedestrian crossings throughout the UK capital

Ford has upgraded its state-of-the-art Virtual Test Track Experiment simulator with improved image rendering technologies and capabilities to study driver performance

UK-headquartered Clearview Traffic Group has announced the proposed merger of its Count On Us traffic survey and market research arm with Sky High

Sumitomo Corporation of America, in conjunction with its car builder partner Nippon Sharyo, has received a contract award from Virginia Railway Express (VRE) for 50 Gallery-type Bi-level passenger cars.

Peter Aylward has been appointed by the Hoeft & Wessel Group as managing director of the Metric subsidiary, headquartered in Swindon, in the UK.

Smith Electric Vehicles Corporation, a specialist in all-electric commercial vehicles, has signed a letter of intent with Wanxiang Group, an automotive parts manufacturing and supplier.

In South Korea's Seoul city, the city government has developed a smartphone application, called Seoul's Fast Ways, to show road conditions to users in real time.

The US Department of Transportation's ITS Joint Program Office has announced the latest update to Turbo Architecture 7.0, a software application that supports development of regional and project ITS architectures

Boomerang Systems, a designer and manufacturer of automated robotic parking and self storage systems, has been contracted to supply 249 parking spaces utilising its innovative RoboticValet parking system

German Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer has announced that the government is currently preparing to invite tenders from companies and consortia throughout Europe for the collection of Germany’s truck toll scheme, with effect from 2015.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has approved the selection of HDR to perform the I-710 Corridor Project North Utility study.

Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors has aided in a pilot study using an electric vehicle to power traffic lights.

Bombardier Transportation has won the iF Product Design Award as well as the Good Design Award for its ground-breaking very high speed (VHS) train currently being developed for leading railway markets in Europe, Asia and North America.

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood yesterday announced the first-ever federally proposed guidelines to encourage automobile manufacturers to limit the distraction risk for in-vehicle electronic devices.

TE Connectivity has announced that its FlexWave Prism distributed antenna system (DAS) has been deployed to provide clear and consistent mobile service for multiple mobile operators throughout the Copenhagen Metro subway system.

Acacia Research Corporation has announced that a subsidiary has acquired over 300 patents from Automotive Technologies International (ATI) relating to numerous automotive safety, navigation and diagnostics technologies.<

CI-Motords, a scooter and motorcycle users pressure group in Switzerland, has called for the right of freely choosing modes of transport to become part of the constitution.

The Danish National Police force is planning to invest in a new IT-project which involves the roll out of 200 speed cameras along roads throughout Denmark.

Telvent GIT has been awarded a contract by the Transcity JV, with Brisbane City Council as the end customer, to implement the ITS for Legacy Way (formerly Northern Link) in Australia.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed yesterday by representatives of the organisations for technical specifications of Germany, UK, France, and Calypso Network Association.

Top Vision has announced it has implemented and installed a variable message sign (VMS) in the central Avenue of Athens.

US-based Ennis Traffic Safety Solutions, parent company of UK-based road safety products manufacturer Ennis Prismo, is merging with Flint Trading to create Ennis Flint.

Plans are moving forward in France for the beltway project around the city of Strasbourg.

Barbara W. Reese, former deputy secretary of ransportation for Virginia and CFO of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDoT), has been named a principal consultant in the strategic consulting group of Parsons Brinckerhoff.

The German Federal Government and the Toll Collect consortium have largely agreed on a contract to extend the HGV motorway toll to about 1,000 km of four-lane federal roads with effect from 1 August 2012.

A new report from Juniper Research has found that 13 per cent of North American and Western European mobile users will use their NFC-enabled mobile phone as a metro rail or bus ticket by 2016,

Siim Kallas and Lui Tuck Yew have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the EC and Singapore on co-operation in the field of ITS.

University of South Florida researchers have published a report claiming that red light cameras do nothing to improve road safety, directly contradicting a national study by the Institute for Highway Safety

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a US$237 million loan to the Renault Group to contribute to R&D for a new generation of batteries and motors for electric vehicles.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) has awarded a contract to ChargePoint Services (CPS) to supply and install GE DuraStation Electric Vehicle chargers and provide on-going after sales service support.

Australia’s largest bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, is adding multiple mobile phone-based payment options to its range of mobile banking services.

The Thai government has announced it will deploy RFID technology to identify speeding buses and vans in Bangkok starting 1 April 2012.

According to new research by ABI Research, insurance telematics users will grow at a CAGR of 90 per cent from 1.85 million in 2010 to 89 million in 2017.

Q-Free has received an order for tolling tags (OBUs) from Portugal’s only tag issuer, Via Verde, part of the Brisa Group which is one of Portugal’s leading tolling concessionaires.

Austrian building group Strabag has won a US$178 million contract to renovate and expand three major thoroughfares in the Tanzanian capital Dar Es Salaam

According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of active remote container tracking units deployed on intermodal shipping containers was 77,000 in Q4-2011.

With near field communication (NFC)-enabled handsets poised to exceed 100 million in 2012, the Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council has announced a new white paper examining how the transit industry can best make use of this popular new technology.

Vitronic and its Estonian partner Alarmtec have won a tender for ten stationary speed enforcement systems from the Estonian Road Administration, and has been honoured by the Dubai Police as the best enforcement supplier of 2011.

The Hertz Corporation and Hertz Global EV are implementing what is claimed as the first wireless charging system for electric vehicles (EVs) in the car rental industry.

Econolite and Image Sensing Systems have unveiled Autoscope Duo, a first in a new generation of hybrid sensor technologies.

Netsize has announced that CityzenCar, a peer-to-peer car sharing social network with 12,000 members in France, has deployed its SMS-based communication solution to secure and simplify car rental for consumers.

Eddie Stobart and A. W. Jenkinson Forest Products have signed a joint-procurement agreement with Scania in the UK for the supply of 1,000 trucks in a deal that mirrors the order placed by the two operators in 2010

The International Road Federation has a new spearhead for its global road safety programme.

Jenoptik Robot has won an order from Malaysia, valued at over US$53 million, to install up to 550 stationary and mobile systems for monitoring red-light and speed violations

Iteris has been awarded a US$1.5 million, five-year contract to operate and maintain the Inland Empire's 511 traveller information system

Navteq has been selected by Scania to provide map data featuring the accurate, reliable and detailed road attributes essential to its innovative new active prediction system.<

Six German companies - BMW, Bosch, Daimler, EnBW, RWE and Siemens - have come together to form a joint venture to harmonise billing and authentication systems and charging processes for electric vehicles.

Hi-Tech Solutions (HTS), a specialist the optical character recognition and computer vision systems market, has sold 120 licence plate recognition (LPR) systems for integration into an automatic parking system in Hong Kong.

Aberdeen City Council in Scotland has approved plans that will introduce a dozen hydrogen-powered buses to the city's services.

Thales has won a US$156 million contract from Singapore’s largest rail operator, SMRT Corporation, to supply its SelTrac communications-based train control (CBTC) re-signalling solution

Intelligent Energy, a specialist in clean power systems, and the Suzuki Motor Corporation have announced the creation of a joint venture company called Smile FC System Corporation

Zipcar, the leading car sharing network, has announced a new partnership with the city of Boston to launch a new fleet sharing programme called FleetHub.

Atkins has won design contracts to increase safety, functionality and comfort for travellers on the Oslo Metro, Norway’s rapid transit system.

New technology could improve safety at intersections by up to 80%.

Slalom Consulting's NYC Station Finder has won the special Large Organisation Award in the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority's App Quest Challenge,

Up to a third of fuel consumption in cars is is spent in overcoming friction. However, both fuel consumption and emissions can be reduced by the use of new technology.

Strong potential for electric vehicles is expected in India. Existing problems of pollution and massive population growth in cities and urban areas is expected to help fuel demand for electric vehicles in the country.

Australia's ITS industry is lodging a bid with the Federal Department of Industry, Innovation, Science and Research to secure funding for a Cooperative Research Centre (CRC).

The European Commission on Friday issued a contract worth some US$330 million for eight more satellites for its Galileo satellite-navigation network, bringing the total number in production by a German-UK consortium to 22

The authorities in Australia are releasing data showing an improvement in road safety in the country, with road deaths continuing to fall.<

A US$2.07 billion rapid transit system extension has been earmarked for the Taiwanese city of Taichung.

The US Department of Transportation (USDoT) has announced the availability of version 7.0 of the National Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Architecture

According to data based on Singapore’s annual road traffic situation report, in 2011 there was an 8.1 per cent year-on-year drop in the number of fatal and injury accidents in Singapore

The Irish railway operator "Iarnród Éireann - Irish Rail" (IÉ) has awarded the implementation of a digital train radio system for the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) region to Kapsch CarrierCom.

Streetline has announced that New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDoT) is this week installing the company’s sensor-enabled smart parking system along Arthur Avenue in the Bronx,

Thales has signed a new US$26.3 million signalling contract with Turkish State Railways (TCDD) to install the ETCS Level 2 system, including automatic train protection and GSM-R communications,

Vaisala, a global leader in environmental management, is launching Condition Patrol with the promise that, for the first time, road maintenance departments now have the ability to access weather data from their entire networks of roads

Hyundai has announced details of its Lifetime Hybrid Battery Replacement Guarantee, announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit earlier this month.

At this year’s "Financier of the Year" gala event in Warsaw, Poland, Kapsch was given an award for the efficiency of its fully electronic toll system viaTOLL

US-headquartered Navistar has announced a global commercial bus partnership with Brazilian commercial bus body manufacturer San Marino Onibus e Implementos (Neobus).

Westminster City Council, in the heart of London, has invested around US$800,000 in new GPS-guided gritting trucks for winter road maintenance.

Banedanmark, the Danish infrastructure owner, has awarded the Thales - Balfour Beatty Rail consortium, a €400 million contract

Brazilian group Bertin is forming a partnership with Italian company Atlantia to merge the management of road concessions they both own in Brazil.

International automotive supplier Continental has joined the OPEN Alliance SIG (One Pair Ether-Net Alliance Special Interest Group) which is dedicated to spreading the use of Ethernet networks as the standard solution for in-vehicle applications.

The EU-funded 'Golden Ice' project has demonstrated a new EGNOS-guided system for safer, more economical and more ecologically responsible salt distribution on winter roads.

Mexico's federal tolling authority, Sirit, and Axiompass have announced they have successfully installed the first toll-free system for residents in the country using Sirit RFID readers.<

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is continuing to support the modernisation of Serbia’s transport infrastructure

The city of Houston, Texas has agreed to pay American Traffic Solutions (ATS) US$4.8 million in compensation for cancelling the city’s red light camera contract

The Czech capital Prague has been chosen to host the headquarters of Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation programme

Point Grey, a leader in advanced digital imaging products, will be hosting the AIA Winter 2012 Vision standards meeting in Vancouver, Canada from 13 – 17 February.

New powers to help UK councils cut the disruption caused by road works, estimated to cost US$6.3 billion a year, have been announced by Transport Minister Norman Baker.

Mentor Engineering has been awarded a US$2 million contract from the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority to implement a complete end-to-end transit ITS system for Oklahoma City’s Metro Transit.

Golden River Traffic has renewed a five year contract with Sheppey Route Limited to maintain the road traffic monitoring system on the A249 Stockbury to Sheerness, in the UK.

Registration for the SV Innovation Award by participants at the BedrijfsautoRAI 2012 exhibition (formerly TERTS) is now open

The US city of San Francisco, and Medellin, Colombia have been declared the winners of the 8th annual Sustainable Transport Award by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Mobisoft Oy and the Finnish Meteorological Institute, have developed a communication system for drivers to inform them about weather and road conditions and prevent serious or fatal accidents.<

BAE Systems and Caterpillar have signed a long-term supply agreement to collaborate on an energy efficient parallel hybrid propulsion system for heavy-duty trucks.

Garmin has announced that it will transition its map provider for the majority of its Nuvi range of personal navigation devices (PNDs) to Navteq from February 2012.

Plans for a lorry road user charging scheme to create a fairer deal for UK hauliers were announced yesterday by roads minister Mike Penning.

The International Road Federation (IRF) has awarded Delcan two Global Road Achievement Awards (GRAA) at their annual banquet in Washington, DC.

Spain’s capital city, Madrid, has awarded Telvent GIT a contract to manage, operate and maintain two of the three most important zones of the capital's traffic light network, involving over 1,600 traffic-light intersections.

The first ever contract to be awarded through the UK Government Procurement Service framework is for a SPECS3 average speed enforcement system, to be installed in Nottinghamshire.

RouteMatch Software has been selected by Nebraska Department of Roads (NDoR) to become the state's primary ITS partner, for 13 Nebraska rural public and tribal transit agencies

Bosch Automotive Aftermarket division is in the process of undertaking its largest ever acquisition with plans to acquire the service solutions business of US-headquartered SPX Corporation

The Sartre (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) project, funded by the European Union, has announced that it has successfully completed the first test demonstrations of a multiple vehicle platoon.

TomTom has announced a partnership with Delcan Corporation in which historical traffic data will be used for the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP 2),

Idle Free Systems, a leading provider of year-round idle elimination solutions for trucks and school buses, has announced a new business partnership with AmeriQuest Transportation Services.

Around 9 February, 2012, Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODoT) Office of Innovative Partnerships and Alternative Funding will be issuing a Request for Information (RFI) in connection with a Road Usage Charge Pilot Program (RUCPP)

Peek, the Imtech Traffic & Infra mobility specialist, has won a contract to provide a new generation of technology for 365 road junctions in Copenhagen.

German company myTaxi, which has revolutionised the European taxi market in less than a year, has extended its group of current investors.

Thales has been awarded a contract by IHI Corporation to re-signal the automated people mover (APM) located within Hong Kong international airport, with a state-of-the-art solution.

Johnson Controls has developed an innovative instrument cluster concept that combines multiple layers of information to generate a three-dimensional (3D) interface.

Parsons Brinckerhoff has appointed transport planning specialist Richard Crossley to its expanding Middle East Transportation Team.

CS Communication & Systèmes has announced the inauguration of the first Fast ETC lanes which the company developed on the A5 Expressway that links Puerto Montt in South Chile with Santiago Del Chile.

Pöyry`s Urban Business Group has been awarded a contract to provide services for the design, tender documentation and site supervision phases for Line 2 of the Ho Chi Minh City Metro, Vietnam.

Rising volumes of truck traffic counteracts the eco benefits of alternative fuels and energy efficient engines, a report by the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) has found.

East Midlands Trains in the UK, part of the transport operator Stagecoach Group which operates trains and buses throughout the UK, is expanding its smartcard scheme.

The array of initiatives such as the ‘Plugged-in Place’ project and eco incentive programmes in diverse locations of the United Kingdom, have made the ownership and the use of electric vehicles a reasonable option.

The cost of the Swiss road tax vignette will more than double to US$106.50 per year from just over $40 at present.

MIT has been selected to lead the US Department of Transportation Research & Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) University Transportation Center (UTC) for the New England Region.

Nissan North America, leading power and technology group ABB, along with 4R Energy and Sumitomo Corporation of America, have formed a partnership to evaluate the reuse of lithium-ion battery packs that power the Nissan Leaf.

Siemens has launched a new low-cost coating for traffic controllers and signals which provides lasting protection against dirt and acts as an anti-graffiti barrier, making it difficult to attach posters or write on the protected surface.

A ground-breaking project to ensure the UK is well positioned for the commercial roll-out of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles was announced yesterday.

Of more than 1.7 million traffic violations registered by the 323 speed enforcement systems in Dubai last year, the 27 PoliScanspeed systems from Vitronic captured 565,148 violators, a third of all violations.

To deal with the issue of driver distraction, the automotive industry is turning to a multi-modal human machine interface (HMI) approach

Clearview Traffic Group has announced the 150th installation of the Golden River M100 wireless vehicle detection system within the UK.

All the major truck brands have signed up for BedrijfsautoRAI 2012 (formerly known as The European Road Transport Show, TERTS),

According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, global shipments of personal navigation devices (PNDs) declined to about 33 million units in 2011.

INIT Innovations in Transportation, a leading provider of ITS located in Chesapeake, Virginia, has partnered with Simtech, a supplier of customised electronic products, to launch a new business venture in the city of Chesapeake

According to ABI Research’s new study, Cellular M2M Connectivity Services, the M2M market has become a fully mainstream segment of the cellular industry.

PTV has beaten 70 competitors to win the prize for the best solution in the category Mobility and Logistics, in the Bitkom (the German Association of Towns and Municipalities) Urban Solutions Pitch.

German software provider PTV has taken a minority stake in Gevas software, a leading traffic engineering firm, further strengthening the companies' close ties.

Official statistics from Taiwan's Ministry of Interior show that in the first 11 months of 2011, there was a 3.28% increase in the number of road accidents that resulted in injuries or deaths, compared with the same period in the previous year.

A major European project aimed at delivering green traffic management systems in European cities and towns will be officially launched at the National Space Centre in Leicester, England, tomorrow.

Autodesk and Pitney Bowes Software have entered into a strategic alliance agreement that will serve as a framework for both companies to provide resources, services and solutions to help infrastructure owners

The Bosch Automotive Aftermarket division has completed the takeover of the Unipoint Group, based in Taipei, Taiwan.

Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide has been awarded an engineering development contract from the leading Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra to develop hydrogen systems for a mini-bus platform

Bombardier Transportation has received an order, worth US$648 million, for 90 electric multiple units of the 430 series commuter trains from Deutsche Bahn Regio.

Azure Dynamics Corporation has delivered its 1000th Balance hybrid electric truck to Purolator, Canada's leading integrated freight and parcel solutions provider.

Automotive safety systems specialist Autoliv has been selected as a partner to participate in the second phase of the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) research programme

Verizon Wireless and In Motion Technology have announced what they claim is the first wireless mobile router system available for securely extending the enterprise network to the vehicle over the world’s largest 4G LTE network.

​​​Support for Stockholm's congestion charge has risen to a record high, a poll by the Centre for Transport Studies (CTS) has shown.

Some US$1.6 billion in funding is being provided from US federal funds to states and territories across the nation to cover the costs of repairing roads and bridges damaged by natural disasters.

German company Vitronic has been selected by Thales group to supply key components for all fixed enforcement gantries for the nationwide truck charging system to be implemented on 15,000 km of French roads.

Daimler and Google have announced a deepening of their strategic partnership to provide Daimler with access to the suite of application programming interfaces (APIs) known as Google Maps API for Business

Providing sophisticated advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to compact cars such as the Ford Focus or Citroen C4 has helped to bring down driver assistance systems from high-end cars to mass-volume compact cars.

Iteris has received an order for US$706,000 from Comet Electric to provide video detection systems and related communication equipment for the Omnitrans sbX Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.

Activu Corporation is now an approved video display control system listed on Florida Department of Transportation’s Approved Product List (APL)

Swiss headuartered power and automation technology group, ABB, has won a tender to build a network of 200 electric vehicle (EV) fast-charging stations throughout Estonia.

Cofiroute USA, which introduced toll road on the 91 Express Lanes in Orange County, California, has installed a fully integrated back office system for the 91 Express Lanes that manages every operating, reporting and customer service detail.

TSS-Transport Simulation Systems, the developer of Aimsun and Aimsun Online traffic simulation software, is to open a new office in Sydney, Australia.

AT&T, within the Peachtree "Connected" City, GA collaboration framework, plans to begin developing a connected, voice-enabled virtual assistant for use by automotive manufacturers

SK Innovation and Continental Corporation have announced their intention to team up for powering electric vehicles worldwide.

US company Progressive Insurance has received a fourth patent for system technologies used with its optional pay-as-you-drive insurance programme

The TRA 2012 transport event, being held in April in Athens, will provide a unique interactive opportunity for attendees to learn about Horizon 2020, the European Commission proposal for a new Research & Innovation Framework Programme

In the latest step forward in the collaboration of the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler, Nissan's Decherd, Tennessee plant will build Mercedes-Benz 4-cylinder engines for Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz

A new coalition of executives from blue chip companies in the US transportation and utility industries has come together to design a large-scale electric vehicle (EV) demonstration project

UK company TAAP has announced that its signature capture applications will now be available on Windows Phone and iPhone devices as well as other devices with capacitive screens.

With China slated to be the world’s biggest market for auto sales and exports by 2025,

ALK Technologies has entered into a partnership with International Telematics Corporation to resell ALK’s CoPilot truck professional navigation software in North America, fully integrated with its ibright vehicle and trailer telematics system.

UK local transport minister, Norman Baker has announced he will host the governments first ‘satnav summit’ early in March to thrash out solutions to end the misery caused when lorry and car drivers follow out of date directions from their satnavs

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released estimates showing that in 2010, transportation deaths in the US was 34,925, a decrease from 35,994 recorded in 2009.

Central Parking System has announced an enhancement to its new proprietary parking app that will allow customers in its New York market to download coupons directly to their iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch device.

Sweden-headquartered Sensys Traffic has received an order for red-light enforcement systems from the United States valued at over US$200,000. The systems, which will be delivered from existing inventories

T3 Motion, a producer of clean/green technology, has received a 200-piece order from A&M Garments in Kuwait for the company’s Motiontrak 300P digital in-car video data recording system. Each Motiontrak 300P will be deployed with patrol fleets

Urban mobility is high on the infrastructure agenda in Mexico. While highways continue to be a priority, capital Mexico City and other large cities across the country are looking to implement mass transport systems such as bus rapid transit (BRT) lines.

Following its December Forum on ITS for Urban Mobility, Ertico ITS Europe has published a 20-page report of the presentations from the high level speakers and participants from public authorities and industry given during the in-depth examination

A panel of scientists and academics is being established by the UK Department for Transport (DfT) to advise on the possible implementation of rules covering drug-driving, along the lines of existing drink-driving laws.

Navteq has been chosen by Garmin as map data supplier for Romania.

DriveCam has announced that NJ Transit has signed a two-year contract to expand the company’s managed services programme across its entire fleet of vehicles.

Carillion has been awarded a US$16 million contract to transform another section of the UK’s M6 in Birmingham, between Junctions 5 and 8, into a managed motorway.

Video detection specialist Traficon has been awarded a contract to provide video image processors for traffic monitoring inside the Södra Länken and Norra Länken tunnels in Stockholm, Sweden.

Thales and its consortium partner, the Hungarian company Dunántúli Kft., has signed a contract worth over US$91 million with the Hungarian infrastructure company NIF

Worldwide new vehicle sales in 2012 are expected to rise 6.7 per cent over 2011 volumes to 77.7 million vehicles, according to Polk, a leading global automotive market intelligence firm.

Smarter steps to reduce carbon emissions are being proposed by a new study from The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the UK (CILT).

Effective yestereday, a new US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rule prohibits an estimated four million commercial truck and bus drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving.

Kapsch is to close its Chinese factory and produce its railway radio modules in its Vienna plant, which will be expanded.

The 2012 Transport Achievement Award Call for Applications has now been launched in Paris. This forms part of the run-up to the International Transport Forum’s 2012 Summit on “Seamless Transport: Making Connections”.

Handal Indah Sdn Bhd (Causeway Link), one of the largest bus company providers, based in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, has integrated onboard light bus validators from Arcontia Technology into its new ticketing system.

UK company Traffic Technology has supplied Surrey County Council with its SDR (speed detection radar) above ground vehicle classifier as part of the Drive Smart campaign,

SIMCom Wireless Solutions, a worldwide specialist in machine-to-machine (M2M) technology, has announced that it has successfully concluded tests of a GSM module for eCall / ERA Glonass readiness on Russia's real network.

The Handheld Group of Sweden, a manufacturer of rugged PDAs and mobile devices, has acquired TimbaTec, a supplier of rugged mobile computers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland from Latschbacher,

Swiss authorities intend to introduce tough regulations that will boost safety on the nation’s roads.

Over the past year, more than 171,000 drivers were fined US$92.50 each and given three points on their licence for driving whilst using mobiles.

The Tamil Nadu government in India intends to replace buses that have reached more than 700,000 kilometres in mileage or those that are more than six years old.

In New Zealand, yearly death toll of road accidents posted at 280 as of 29 December 2011, which is a record-low figure since 1952.

Navteq has announced that North America and Europe coverage is now available on Esri ArcGIS Online and Data Appliance.

The US ITS JPO has announced it will host a free public meeting and webinar to obtain stakeholder input on concepts, opportunities and needs for the Integrated Dynamic Transit Operations (IDTO) operational concept.

According to figures from Dutch automotive association and tourism group ANWB traffic congestion decreased 27 per cent in the Netherlands in 2011

The Austrian Industrial Association (IV) has called for a road pricing system under which drivers would pay less for owning a car but more for using it.

UK government roads minister Mike Penning yesterday announced the roll-out of 3D laser scanning technology to shorten road closure times after crashes.

Bombardier Transportation yesterday announced that it has secured an additional order, valued at US$296 million, for 130 Electrostar cars for Southern rail in the UK.

According to a study by Pike Research of the market opportunity for telematics in plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), the annual revenue from sales of EV telematics will reach US$1.4 billion by 2017.

Dynalectric Los Angeles, a subsidiary of Emcor Group, has been awarded a contract for the Coliseum/Florence region for the automated traffic surveillance and control (ATSAC) project for the city of Los Angeles.

Nissan Motor Company and the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport will begin an eight-month large-scale demonstration test in the city’s Wangjing district to verify the effects of traffic dispersion by dynamic route guidance with IT devices.

Eltek has signed an agreement with Volvo Car Corporation for supply complete water-cooled on-board chargers with volume production starting in 2012 for a hybrid electrical vehicle programme.

Concerns over the safety of some electric vehicles are being expressed in the US, although sales are increasing in certain areas of the country both for EVs and hybrid types.

The Moroccan city of Rabat is studying the creation of an integrated transport network, which would initially involve tram and bus systems.

Innocorp’s new iPhone app Intoxicheck leads users through a simple set of before and after reaction, judgment and memory challenges so drivers clearly see how impaired they are in an effort to stop drinking and driving.

New research in Spain that explored solutions to reducing traffic noise suggests that the best option is to combine global measures, such as speed restrictions, and local measures, such as noise screens.

The government of Nepal has invited an expression of interest...

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.

Ford has joined forces with Cambridge University in the UK to gain a better understanding of visual impairment issues that come with an ageing society and to use digital tools to better design vehicles for those with vision problems.

The San Francisco Bay Area's Clipper transit fare-collection programme has hit the magic one million active cards in circulation milestone.

An innovative future fuel source could be provided by bacteria, according to researchers working with the US Department of Energy (DOE).

INVG, a transport company based in Ingolstadt, Germany, has opted for an integrated ITS and ticketing system from INIT.

Kathmandu metropolitan city is planning to operate 24-hrs metro bus system using double-decker buses that will carry more passengers and also provide night services, reports Ram Krishna Wagle from Nepal.

Image Sensing Systems (ISS) has amended its agreement with its long-time partner, Econolite Control Products, to expand the exclusive North American manufacturing and distribution agreement.

Collection of motorway tolls in the Czech Republic will increase by 25 per cent to US$420 million in 2011.

Danish traffic experts are urging politicians in Copenhagen to opt for road pricing instead of the planned ring road.

The European Investment Bank, the European Union’s long-term lending institution, has agreed to provide US$157 over 19 years to enable Nottingham City Council to expand the city’s light rail system with two new tram lines to the south and south west.

A majority of Americans believe new transportation projects should be paid for with user-fees instead of tax increases, according to a new national Reason-Rupe poll of 1,200 adults on cell phones and land lines.

UK consultants, Roughton International, working on behalf of the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), teamed up with Sky High and Traffic Technology to deploy traffic flow data collection equipment suitable for the Ugandan road network.

TomTom will provide the city of Purmerend with real time traffic information to optimise traffic flow. Journey time information will be displayed on the highway message screen advising drivers of the quickest way out of the city onto the A7 highway.

Beat the Traffic, a leading provider of real-time traffic information for broadcast media and mobile devices, and TrafficLand, the largest authorised aggregator of live traffic video in the US.

OLEV Technologies has announced that its On-line Electric Vehicle (OLEV) bus project for the city of McAllen, Texas has been selected for funding through the US Federal Transportation Administration TIGGER.

North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDoT) has announced it is seeking projects to to receive its Mobility Fund grant which has an allocation of about US$45 million

TÜV Rheinland’s ITS group is now part of the quality control team for the US Department of Transportation’s (US DoT) Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot project

The National Roads Authority (NRA) in Ireland has announced it will expand its journey time system by expanding deployment of ANPR cameras

Magellan, a leading GPS brand, has been named an International CES Innovations 2012 Design and Engineering Award Honouree for its Wireless Back-up Camera.

Federal Signal Technologies (FSTech) has been awarded a three-year back office system and operations contract by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDoT).

Nottingham City Council in the UK has placed an order for 200 Aura Elite pay and display parking meters manufactured by the Metric Group to replace their existing on and off street equipment.

Communication Networks (ComNet) has been selected by the Talk-A-Phone Company to supply fibre optic media converters and EoVDSL modems (Ethernet over Very High Digital Subscriber Link) for use with their line of VOIP-500 Series of Voice-over-IP phones.

The Traffic Tech Group has received the Golden Award for Excellence & Quality in the Arab World from the Arab Administrative Development Organisation (ARADO)

Redflex Traffic Systems has announced the signing of a contract for the supply of camera systems, back office software and related services for the automated enforcement system (AES) project in Malaysia.

The US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) yesterday launched a solicitation under its Technology Partnerships programme that aims to help highway industry innovations make the leap from promising prototypes to market-ready products.

Thales has been selected by Andrade Gutierrez (AG) and CR Almeida to deliver its SelTrac communications-based train control (CBTC) signalling solution for Line 17 of the São Paulo metro.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has announced a US$1 million grant award to help develop electric vehicle infrastructure on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

An ITS toolkit, developed within the 2Decide project funded by the European Commission DG Move (Mobility and Transport) in the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Development, is now available to the public for free

Road safety continues to improve in France, according to the latest official statistics.

Traffic Technology Limited has announced that they have partnered with Bluetrace of The Netherlands, enabling them to introduce an innovative and effective journey

Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have released a technical report that could help improve the performance of electric vehicles (EVs) and the efficiency of the electric utility grids that power them.

The Portuguese road operator Ascendi has awarded Q-Free a five-year service and maintenance contract,

Thales has opened the last phase of Mecca’s new 18.5 km metro line on schedule and in time for the Hajj pilgrimage, the world’s largest religious gathering.

China is helping provide funding for Nepal's road expansion. The Chinese Government has agreed a deal with the Nepalese Government to expand the Kathmandu Valley ring road.

Qumak-Sekom, the Polish IT integrator, has made the lowest bid (US$39.57 million) in a tender to build

AMG systems has revealed that it supplied its AMG 5000 transmission solution for the new Indian Formula One circuit which hosted the inaugural Indian Formula One Grand Prix on 30 October, 2011.

In a new project that began last month, Europe is taking a significant step to scientifically underpin the estimation of CO2 emissions.

Machine vision specialist Vitronic is offering Arabic speaking customers a new additional service.

According to a report from Pike Research, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) combined will represent 3.1 per cent of worldwide auto sales by 2017.

Iteris, which vews the Middle East region as a vital part of its global business development strategy, has announced today, on the opening day of Gulf Traffic in Dubai, UAE,

ITS Europe and Topos Aquitaine have signed the contract for the ITS World Congress 2015. Alain Rousset, president of Bordeaux Region, and founding member of Topos Aquitaine,

The latest official forecasts for Taiwan predict that the country’s electric vehicle market will begin to grow quickly in five to six years. This will come as a result of improvements in technology, increased manufacturing and government action.

TomTom has announced it is targeting substantial cost savings in 2012 through a reorganisation and reducing some 10 per cent of the workforce. A company statement said that its research and development activities will be regrouped in ten product units

The Caterpillar Foundation today announced a five-year, $12.5 million grant to the World Resources Institute (WRI) to advance the progress of environmentally sustainable and livable cities in China, India, and Brazil.

Peek, Imtech’s provider of intelligent mobility solutions, yesterday unveiled what is being claimed as the first commercially available cooperative ITS platform that offers road administrators, emergency services and logistics