News

With public EV charging infrastructure achieving critical mass in the city of Shenzhen, China, BYD has announced that its five-passenger, long-range, all-electric cross-over vehicle, the BYD e6, will be available for consumer purchases (previously available for fleet purchases). Consumers in Shenzhen will receive a substantial government subsidy — equivalent to about US$18,000 – and the final price to consumers will be around US$38,500.

Anomalies regarding the return of driving licenses to people found guilty of serious driving offences have been uncovered in the UK. In a number of instances, these drivers have then gone on to commit more driving offences and in at least two cases, causing fatalities.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) board of directors has approved a US$260.56m loan for the construction of the central section of the Western High-Speed Diameter (WHSD) in St Petersburg by 2014. Magistral Severnoy Stolitsy (MSS) consortium must invest at least ROUBLE82.86billion (US$2.61billion) in the 11.5km stretch of mostly eight-lane motorway.

The number of people using French public transport rose by 4.5% during the first 11 months of 2011 compared to the same period of 2010, according to UTP. The French public transport and rail union claims the increase is mainly due to the end of the Government’s nationwide bonus offered to individuals purchasing a new low polluting vehicle, and an increase in fuel prices. Urban public transport networks (outside RATP) are still believed by UTP to have means to develop, because 41% of the French population

Bavaria Parkgaragen and E.ON AG have teamed up to open the first eight jointly operated charging points for electric cars in Munich. Up to two electric cars can be charged at the same time at each point. "We are subsidising these charging points to give e-mobility a boost in its initial stages," says Claus Schnell, managing director of Bavaria Parkgaragen. “Just one euro is all it costs to charge up an electric car's batteries, and the use of a charging point is included in the car parking fee. Basically an

The opening of Crossrail, the new east-west rail line in London, has been set for May 2017. Trains will initially be able to use the north east section of the new line, between Liverpool Street and Shenfield in Essex, Crossrail’s chief executive Andrew Worstenholme told a meeting of the London Assembly transport committee. The western surface section between Paddington and Heathrow should start in 2018, with a trial also beginning in December that year in the central tunnel section linking Paddington and

Electric vehicles will play an important role in the decarbonisation of road transport in the EU, according to the European Commission’s Energy Roadmap 2050. The Roadmap does not to set any concrete recommendations, policy actions or intermediate targets.

Work on the DFW Connector project in Texas is now 50% complete. When it is finished, the DFW Connector project will reduce congestion for drivers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The DFW Connector is the largest investment of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, US$260 million, in a highway project.

Four consortia have been appointed by the DfT to consultancy frameworks for rail and road schemes. A TRL-Halcrow joint venture; Ove Arup & Partners with URS; Aecom and Atkins; and Parsons Brinckerhoff with WSP; may be used by the DfT, Highways Agency or any other Government bodies, over a period of three years with the potential for a one-year extension. Similar plans for general transport and social research are underway, although the tender was suspended in 2011 as it was thought to disadvantage smalle

TomTom has expanded coverage of its portfolio of real time traffic products for licensing customers to include the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, bringing the total count to 23 countries. "This is a strong step forward for TomTom's mission to reduce traffic congestion globally," claims Ralf-Peter Schaefer, head of TomTom traffic product unit. "By expanding our services in Europe, customers are able to access superior traffic information for highways, major roads and secondary roads tha

Atlas Copco plans to acquire the underground equipment business of GIA Industri, which will widen its array of machines for the tunneling market. Swedish firm GIA Industri makes an array of specialist machines for underground use including electric haulage trucks, utility vehicles and ventilation systems.