Revenue leakages in toll collections deter private investment in roads. Road tolling is the only direct means of recovering costs for road agencies or developers. Shadow Tolling, an arrangement between the concessionaries and the government where the latter pays for all the vehicles passing through the road, could be the answer to the problem.

Toll systems in India have to put in place innovative strategies and efficient technologies. This is important to avoid customer inconvenience and revenue erosion, writes Prince Mitra, Head of Technology, Soma- Isolux, ITS & Highway Traffic.

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has sanctioned five new national highways for Himachal which will be upgraded out of the existing routes. This will add additional road length of 494.875km to the national highway network of the state. The five new highways would include Hamirpur-Sujanpur-Palampur (59.775km); Brahmpukhar-Bilaspur-Ghumarwin-Sarkaghat-Lad Bhadol-Baijnath; Bharmour-Chamba-Dalhousie-Pathankot (133km); Taradevi-Jubbarhatti-Kunihar-Ramshehar-Nalagarh-Ghanauli (106.4km) and Chandigarh-PGI (Baddi) Punjab Pokhran-Nalagarh-Ramshehar-Arki-Shalaghat ...

The Road and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai recently launched the Green Metro Line which adds 18 new stations and 23 kilometres to the country’s rail network. At present, two transfer stations exist in the metro rail network – Union and Khalid bin Al Waleed, the Union station being the biggest underground station in the world with an area of ...

UNAOC (United Nation Alliance of Civilisation), in association with BMW, has instituted the UNAOC-BMW Award for intercultural innovation. The award will encourage and reward original, pioneering initiatives that promote inter-cultural understanding among different cultures, communities and traditions around the world. The UNAOC is an organisation set up by the United Nations (UN) to improve relations and understanding among different cultures, ...

The UK, which loses an estimated $6.6 billion annually due to traffic congestion caused by road repair works, plans to charge companies that carry out utility repair works during the peak traffic hours on roads, especially the busiest roads. The measure will be implemented under a proposed ‘lane rental’ scheme, under which city councils could charge utility companies ‘rent’ for ...

Tata Motors recently launched Tata Indigo e-CS VX, a sedan with a mileage of 25km / litre. The car, powered by a CR4 Common Rail Diesel Engine, incorporates some new technological advances which make this possible. It has a Smart EMS (Engine Management System) chip that calibrates engine components every microsecond to achieve optimum performance of various systems – valve ...

BMW unveiled a forward collision warning system, the Mono Vision Sensing System (MVSS) at the recently concluded Frankfurt Auto Show. Developed by Sweden-based Autoliv, MVSS improves the awareness of the driver, and alerts him to both an impending collision with a vehicle in front, and an unintentional lane departure. The system will also feature traffic sign recognition and automatic high ...

The Flying Banana Mk. II, an electric motorcycle produced by Lightning Motorcycles, Utah, USA, became the world’s first electric motorcycle to break the 200mph barrier when it achieved a cruising speed of 215mph this August, breaking its own best speed of 176mph set in 2010. The bike is powered by Remi Electric HVH250 electric propulsion motor and an Ener 1 ...

The र47 crore BRTS project proposed at Indore promises to change the face of bus commuting in Indore. The dedicated bus corridor between Niranjanpur Square and Rajiv Gandhi Square, with 22 bus stops, will have 125 low floor buses and 50 special air-conditioned buses plying on the route. The traffic signals along the BRTS corridor will be equipped with bus ...