UTC

The US Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has announced US$60 million in grants to fund cutting-edge transportation improvement technologies that will improve safety, efficiency, system performance, and infrastructure return on investment. The new program, Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment Program (ATCMTD), is aimed at addressing the concerns outlined in Beyond Traffic, the USDOT report issued last year that examines the c

WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff is to develop a transportation improvement strategy (TIS) to address existing congestion and physical/geometrical issues as well as projected future development on the North Shore of Staten Island. The study, which emerges from the recommendations developed as part of the North Shore 2030 Plan, will be carried out on behalf of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the New York City Department of City Planning and the New York City Department of Transportation. The s

Transport for London (TfL) has introduced what is said to be the world’s first zero-emission, long-range, all-electric BYD double-decker buses into service on a route operated by bus operator Metroline. Electric vehicle manufacturer BYD will fast charging equipment at Metroline’s Willesden bus garage in north London and provide driver training for the bus operators. BYD designed and developed the 33 foot long vehicles to TfL specifications, feature air conditioning, seats for 54 passengers and space for

The European Commission has adopted a series of rules for road hauliers and road passenger transport operators. They include a common classification of serious road safety infringements under transport legislation, as well as new specifications for smart tachographs (the device that records driving times of lorry, bus and coach drivers) making the best use of new digital technologies such as Galileo. The objective is to enhance road safety, contribute to a fairer competition between road transport operators

A nine-month programme to upgrade traditional wait indicator lamps with longer-lasting and energy-saving LED lights across more than 500 traffic signal sites is underway in Manchester, UK. As part of a contract awarded to Siemens by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), wait indicators will be upgraded at pedestrian crossings and junctions throughout all ten districts of Greater Manchester. This follows the successful completion of a major traffic signalling upgrade programme by Siemens in 2014, with the

Transport for London (TfL) has completed trials of intelligent speed assistance (ISA) technology fitted to buses. The trials saw the technology, which prevents vehicles from accelerating over speed limits, fully tested on two bus routes that included a variety of road environments and differing speed limits. All buses fitted with ISA remained within the speed limit 97-99 per cent of the time, which TfL says proves the effectiveness of ISA. The extremely rare incidents of excess speeds were seen on downhi

Traffic priority control and sensing systems specialist Global Traffic Technologies (GTT) is forming a relationship with Sajan, which deploys language services ranging from website translation to software localisation.

Buoyed by the success of its recent ITS introductions, the authorities in Moscow are planning additions to the system as Eugene Gerden discovered. The government of Russia’s capital, Moscow, plans further improvement to the city’s transport systems, partly through the introduction of new ITS technologies and the modernisation of existing systems. At the beginning of 2015 the Moscow government completed the introduction of a new ITS infrastructure in the city, which, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin

The UK chancellor announced in his spring budget what he called the biggest investment, US$87.5 billion (£61 billion), in transport infrastructure in generations and is increasing capital investment in the transport network by 50 per cent over this Parliament compared to the last. The government plans to establish the UK as a global centre for excellence in connected and autonomous vehicles by establishing a US$24.1 million (£15 million) ‘connected corridor’ from London to Dover to enable vehicles to com