LCRIG’s inaugural Innovation Festival hailed a success
More than 450 people from local and national government, technology companies, associations, contractors, consultants and academia attended the Local Council Roads Innovation Group’s (LCRIG) inaugural Innovation Festival last week. This summer’s Innovation Festival, which took place at Newark Showground from 6-7 July, was a first of its kind for the highways sector. The new event […]
World-first platooning trial finds technology is safe
A multi-year trial to ascertain the effectiveness of platooning technology on the UK road network has drawn its conclusions, and found that the technology could be safely used. The HelmUK trial of platooning across the strategic road network – the first realistic platooning trial to have taken place on a live road network globally– saw […]
Long-term London transport funding deal “essential” – TfL
The Government has approved another interim funding deal with Transport for London to keep the capital’s network running for another two weeks. But TfL says that these short-term deals are harming London’s recovery and a long-term deal is necessary. A spokesperson said: “We continue to discuss our funding requirements with the Government. There is no […]
EV test drive programme launched by Gridserve
Charging Infrastructure firm Gridserve has launched a new electric vehicle test drive programme with motorists able to take out the latest cars from its Electric Forecourts in Braintree and Norwich. TransportandEnergy.com reports drivers will be able to experience the best electric vehicles from multiple brands, get impartial advice, find out more about charging solutions and […]
Michelin buys road infrastructure computer vision start-up
Michelin has announced the acquisition of RoadBotics, an American company specialising in road infrastructure images analysis. Founded in 2016, RoadBotics leverages artificial intelligence to analyse visual data collected on roads by cameras (mainly smartphones). Michelin says that, thanks to RoadBotics’ computer vision know-how, the images are transformed into actionable insights which helps road managers to […]
BWM uses connected vehicle tech to charge for hardware use
BMW has started selling subscriptions for a number of its in-car features, such as heated seats and automatic headlight beam management, using over-the-air technology to permit drivers to pay for the products. The Verge has spotted this, saying it’s the latest example of the company’s adoption of microtransactions for high-end car features. A monthly subscription […]
Team from Green 2 complete Great British EV Rally
The co-founders of sustainable delivery company Green 2 have completed the Great British EV Rally (GBEVR) – a journey which saw them drive from one end of the British Isles to the other in a pair of electric vans. Lee Sibley and Jason Atkins completed the 1,200-mile journey in a pair of Mercedes-Benz eVito vans […]
Making National Highways Sustainable – important plans on this week’s Highways Voices podcast
“There’s something like 46 action plans now, across the company, I’m really clear that what we can’t do is have a big central team that is delivering on carbon, and everyone else carries on working as they did before,” explains National Highways’ Director of Environmental Sustainability Steve Elderkin on this week’s Highways Voices podcast. “Carbon […]
Balfour Beatty rolls out automated cone laying machines
Balfour Beatty has become the first construction company in the UK to roll out Automated Cone Laying Machines, a new pioneering technology to reduce the risks associated with cone laying activities across its Highways operations. Whilst cone laying remains essential to delineate traffic during maintenance works, it also poses one of the biggest risks facing […]
London’s ULEZ expansion to cost £200m
It’s been revealed that expanding the ultra-low emission zone across Greater London will cost around £200 million. London’s Evening Standard has discovered the scale of the cost is mainly to fund hundreds of enforcement cameras to ensure motorists pay the £12.50-a-day levy. It excludes the cost of a scrappage scheme and comes on top of […]