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Phil Pettitt, Chief Executive of innovITS, the UK's ITS Centre of Excellence, argues that governments need to look beyond the short-term when looking to pump-prime economic recovery with public funds. It seems, in the current economic climate, that a 'good' day is one in which no company is announcing job cuts or going into administration. Consumer demand is down and businesses are retrenching, cutting costs and fretting over the consequences of shrinking opportunities and order books. It has not been this

Clearview Traffic Group is using Traffex to launch its new Astucia Flush Intelligent Road Studs and the newly updated Solar Powered Logging Studs.

Scott Andrews of Cogenia Partners, LLC details the findings of the VII Proof Of Concept work carried out to verify the effectiveness of 5.9GHz-based communication for future US cooperative infrastructures

Speed Check Services and Computer Recognition Systems have joined forces and Traffex will witness the official launch of Vysionics ITS - the new name for the combined companies.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota are working on a method that helps snowploughs determine exactly where slippery patches are and to target those specific areas with their sand-and-salt mixtures.

David Crawford surveys European trends in environmental monitoring and enforcement

Instarmac will be showcasing its innovative range of highway maintenance and streetscape products.

Daktronics will provide its Vanguard Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) under a new US$25.6 million contract.

Jack Opiola explores the oft-underestimated effect that a charging scheme's name can have on public acceptability and ultimate success. The Bard of Avon wrote: "What's in a name?" For transport, especially Road User Charging, that is an especially relevant question.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has awarded electric car pioneer ZAP an engineering contract for the design and development of an electric version of its Long Life Vehicle (LLV).

Norwegian tolling systems supplier Q-Free has been awarded a US$2.5 million order for toll tags from the Australian Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA).

Slovenian traffic technology specialist Sipronika will launch the MHP50 speed display which uses a built-in microwave radar to measure the speeds of vehicles as they pass by. There are several versions of display available: a basic version with a speed display only, a version with an additional mono-colour LED message, and a version with an RGB message. The RGB display can show any kind of multi-colour traffic signs, animated text, graphic animation or sponsor's logo.

Jenoptik Robot has won contracts worth US$5.4 million to deploy its stationary and mobile systems to monitor and measure average speeds on roads in Switzerland, Austria and a Middle Eastern country.

Tele Atlas and TeleNav have announced a renewed multi-year license agreement whereby TeleNav uses Tele Atlas maps and dynamic content to power a range of wireless navigation applications and its connected personal navigation device.

The 'rebranding' of the US's Vehicle-Infrastructure Integration programme as IntelliDrive marks an effort to make the whole undertaking more accessible both in terms of nomenclature and technology. Shelley Row, director of the ITS Joint Program Office within USDOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration, talks about the changes

John Nelson and Brian Masson, Centre for Transport Research, University of Aberdeen, UK, describe the FLIPPER initiative which is intended to improve the provision of flexible transport services

This section pulls together all the multi-modal topics in each issue. Subject matter will include smartcards; ticketing and payment systems; passenger information systems; fleet management for buses, trains and light rail; park and ride systems; on-line access to real-time information via Internet portals

Recognising that the desire to reduce operating costs is driving Internet Protocol (IP) communications to become more commonplace in the traffic control environment, Peek will use Traffex to unveil an important innovation. The company is now enabling UG405 operation directly within the PTC-1 family of traffic controllers (PTC-1 and PTC-1 Lite). This will enable a PTC-1 family IP controller to be connected directly to an Ethernet connection at the roadside, without the need for an intervening Peek Chameleon

ATX, a leading provider of in-vehicle, location-based services to the global automobile industry, is participating in a Deufrako pilot project designed to test different eCall deployment solutions for locating vehicles involved in cross-border emergency situations between France and Germany.

David Crawford investigates carbon finance in transport. World Bank carbon finance grants are delivering critical support to major mass transit deployments in emerging and developing economies. Only recently operative in the transport sector, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM, see panel) is designed to generate additional income streams and improve internal rates of return on projects funded from public- and private-sector sources.