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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 report documents a series of test procedures designed to enable engineers, designers and utilities to evaluate the performance of various EVs and hybrids to optimise how they connect with electric utility grids today - and "smart grids" in the future.

Recent results from the state of Florida cities of Pembroke Pines and Miami Gardens police departments show considerable decreases in crashes at intersections with safety cameras. For instance, in Miami Gardens, since the inception of the red-light safety camera programme, crashes have been reduced by 83 per cent at the 12 monitored intersections. Crash data from 2008 through October 2011 was closely examined and the city says it has achieved a steady reduction in collisions creating safer roads for the com

ITS America president and CEO Scott Belcher issued a statement yesterday in response to the release of the text of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee’s surface transportation reauthorization bill, MAP-21. Similar to the Smart Technologies for Communities Act (H.R. 995), introduced in the House by ITS Caucus co-chairs Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Russ Carnahan (D-MO), the initiative would provide new levels of accountability by requiring grant recipients to measure and improve the performance

The Portuguese road operator Ascendi has awarded Q-Free a five-year service and maintenance contract, valued at over US$15 million, related to the tolling infrastructure deployed in Beiras Litoral e Alta and Interior Norte concessions."The Portuguese market continues to be important for the company, and service and maintenance contracts are forming an essential basis for a strong local presence and long term growth in this innovative market," said Dr. Øyvind Isaksen, Q-Free CEO

Evatran, a developer of wireless charging systems for electric vehicles, has signed contracts with six high-profile commercial participants to outfit their Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf models with pre-production Plugless Power wireless charging systems.

International Road Dynamics (IRD) has been awarded a contract by Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) to build, implement, and maintain new and innovative port-of-entry (POE) electronic (E)-screening systems (EES) and virtual weigh stations (VWS) for commercial vehicles within the State of Oklahoma. The initial phase of the contract includes installations valued at US$5,036,500.00 on Interstate-35 North, Interstate-40 East, and Interstate-40 West. The initial contract period is one year with options

Capita Symonds’ Technology team has been appointed by the UK’s Highways Agency (HA) to provide three regional training venues which will ensure that HA traffic officers returning to work after a period of absence are fully conversant with the latest procedures/practices for a live motorway environment. The centres include a ‘mock motorway’ comprising a white lined, four lane carriageway used to simulate the unique pressures of an average motorway. The centres will also provide classroom facilities to enable

The world's leading manufacturers of heavy-duty commercial trucks and engines have called for further progress in regulatory harmonisation and closer cooperation among European, North American, and Japanese regulators in order to improve energy efficiency and reduce fuel consumption associated with on-road freight transport.Meeting in Tokyo, the chief executives of more than ten global truck and engine manufacturers discussed key issues facing their industry, including fuel efficiency improvements, reductio

Dutch technical services provider Imtech has announced it has been awarded contracts totalling US$48.25 million in the fields of traffic infrastructure management and traffic management. The contracts also include technology solutions for traffic data collection in the UK, Belgium and Sweden, tunnel maintenance in the Netherlands and motorway water-related disruption prevention in Poland.

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".

PLN 26.4billion (US$7.6billion) was spent on new roads in Poland in 2011, according to a report prepared by the Polish General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA). The investment resulted in the construction of 205.5km of motorways and 62.2km of dual carriageways.

The Chilean authorities have had to re-launch the tender process for the 187km La Serena – Vallenar highway project. A consortium, Azvi-Copasa, originally won the tender for the project in 2010 but struggled to find the necessary financing. As a result, Chile's Ministry of Public Works (MOP) has been forced to restart the tendering process and open the project for bidding once more.

An innovative future fuel source could be provided by bacteria, according to researchers working with the US Department of Energy (DOE). Strains of Escherichia colibacteria have been developed that are able to digest switchgrass biomass and then synthesise the sugars into three transportation fuels.

Sustained public information campaigns on road safety can play a crucial role in reducing road fatalities on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) roads, according to a UK government marketing professional, whose public communication campaigns have helped reduce deaths on British roads by 45 per cent in the last decade.

The Kosovan Government has ambitious plans and aims to have finished building the new Route 6 highway linking with Macedonia as well as rebuilding the existing national roads during the next four years. The Kosovan Transport Ministry has said that the tender process for the Macedonia link will open in 2012 while the work will commence in 2013 and the road is expected to be complete by 2014.

An announcement is due shortly with regard to the Corridor Vc highway in Bosnia. Several talks have been held with Turkish companies for the construction of the highway. The project value is expected to reach some €2 billion. The project is of strategic importance for Bosnia, although the country lacks necessary funding.

Slovakia had received €979million (US$1.28billion) from the European Commission's Operational Programme Transport (OPD) by the end of November 2011, according to Government sources. The money, which can be used until 2015, will pay for 40km of expressways, around 90km of motorway, and improvements to 80km of railways and 600km of roads.

Plans are in hand in Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar for a series of road and bridge projects that will improve the city’s connectivity with the rest of the country. Included in the planned works are works to build five new bridges, 139km of roads and widen 150km of roads. The transport plan will run until the end of 2013. Ulaanbaatar will develop a further two bridges, rebuild 200km of roads and run 73km of roads in the period from 2013-2016. At present, there are 64 bridges and 450km of paved roads in Ulaa

The local authorities in China's Sichuan Province are planning a massive expansion and improvement programme targeted at rural roads. Over US$12.7 billion will be invested in rural road development during China's 12th Five-Year Plan, which is for the 2011-2015 period.

The latest official statistics from the US on road accidents show that fatality levels on the nation's roads have dropped to the lowest figures seen for more than six decades. The information was released by US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, revealing that highway deaths fell to 32,885 for 2010, the lowest level since 1949.