Tributes paid to DfT’s Steve Berry
The Department for Transport’s Head of Highways Maintenance, Innovation and Resilience, Steve Berry has died. He had been ill for some months after being diagnosed with incurable cancer towards the end of last year. He was surrounded by his family at home when he passed away on Wednesday evening. Steve worked for the DfT for […]
TTF adding parking info to local authority dataset
Over the past year, the Transport Technology Forum, on behalf of the Department for Transport has been looking to consolidate local authority traffic and transport data in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of authorities and operators already provide data to the DfT, and the TTF says it is keen to engage with further […]
Dartford MP seeks to make proposed London Driving Charge unlawful
An MP is attempting to outlaw a suggestion from London Mayor Sadiq Khan that motorists from outside the capital should pay £3.50 per day to drive within the boundaries. KentOnline quotes Dartford MP Gareth Johnson as describing the idea as “catastrophic and mad” and that he’s pushing to introduce a bill to rule that the […]
Highways England joins Smart Mobility Living Lab
Highways England has formally joined the Innovation Community of the Smart Mobility Living Lab – the world-leading London-based test bed to develop future automated and carbon-neutral future transport solutions. SMLL is a multi-million pound joint initiative between industry and government aimed at accelerating the transition to a more sustainable, carbon neutral, transport system. The testbed […]
Council chief executives urged to act on traffic signal upgrade funding offer
The chief executives of English local authorities outside London are being urged to ensure their highways teams submit expressions of interest for a share of new funding to repair and upgrade their traffic signals. The Department for Transport announced last week that £15 million of extra money has been allocated to supplement existing local authority […]
Vaisala and JCDecaux provide air quality information to selected public transport shelters
A pilot in the Finnish capital Helsinki is providing air quality information at two public transport stops until the end of the year in an attempt to enhance people’s understanding of air quality issues in the city. Weather data specialist Vaisala is working with a series of partners to disseminate hyperlocal information about the air […]
Three companies shortlisted for Lower Thames Crossing
Highways England has announced the three organisations shortlisted to build the £2.3 billion Lower Thames Crossing. It says they are: BFV JV; comprising BAM Nuttal Ltd, Ferrovial Construction (UK) Ltd and VINCI Construction Grands Projets, supported by Atkins Ltd, Tecnica y Proyectos SA (TYPSA) and Stantec UK Limited Bouygues Murphy Joint Venture (BMJV); comprising Bouygues Travaux Publics S.A.S. and J Murphy & […]
London Mayor candidate promises six months’ free travel
The actor Laurence Fox is promising six months of free tube and bus travel in London if he gets elected mayor in next month’s election. The Reclaim Party leader says it’ll help “bring the capital back to life” after lockdown. Fox told the Evening Standard, “Our Chancellor Rishi Sunak is paying people to stay at […]
Traffic information industry mourns leading broadcaster
The national radio traffic and travel reporter Gary Scott of INRIX has been found dead at his home, aged 57. Scott, whose real name was Gary Skinner, had appeared on a number of local and national radio stations in a near-20 year career, including talkSPORT, LBC and local Surrey station The Eagle. Police were alerted […]
Energy-generating floor installed at railway station
A system to utilise kinetic energy from commuters’ footsteps has been installed at Leighton Buzzard railway station in Bedfordshire. Funded by the Department of Transport through the £22.9 million ADEPT SMART places Live Labs Programme, Pavegen and Central Bedfordshire Council, who’re behind the project, say they aim to make sure the benefits reach far beyond […]