- Kapsch Announces Innovation In License Plate Recognition Technology For North American Market
- Pennsylvania Lobbies For Transportation Funds Frozen By Trump Administration
- Union Members Ratify New US Port Labor Agreement
- These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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Kapsch Announces Innovation In License Plate Recognition Technology For North American Market
Kapsch TrafficCom announced it has created an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) engine specifically for the North American market that offers “unparalleled accuracy and reliability.”
According to Chris Jones, Kapsch North America’s Director of Video Transaction Optimization, the engine’s “newly developed deep neural network . . . ensures precise identification of license plates from 58 jurisdictions, including all mainland US states, Hawaii, Mexico, and the most relevant Canadian provinces.” Kapsch TrafficCom North America President JB Kendrick notes that the engine can accurately recognize the variety of characters seen on more than 150 plate types, “focusing on the most widely used designs and ensuring easy scalability to include additional types as needed.” She adds that the engine, which isn’t a stand-alone product, will be “a key building block” in Kapsch systems for existing and future roadside tolling clients. It is already being implemented in several of the company’s projects.
Because of its accuracy, the ANPR engine will help toll entities reduce costs for manual transaction review. It was developed through a cross-regional collaboration of Kapsch experts and built on ANPR advances the firm previously introduced in Europe and Australia.
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Automated License Plate Recognition Canada ETC Systems Information Technology Resources and Acquisitions Kapsch MexicoPennsylvania Lobbies For Transportation Funds Frozen By Trump Administration
Pittsburgh Union-Progress reports, it took a lawsuit and some personal negotiation by the governor, but Pennsylvania succeeded this week in obtaining the release of $2.1 billion in federal funds improperly withheld by the Trump administration. However, bargaining continues over an additional $700 million in transportation project grants the state was awarded during the Biden administration. The money in dispute includes $500 million for the replacement of an I-83 bridge in Harrisburg that state officials initially proposed to toll, as well as funding for electric vehicle charging station installation. PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll says the state will find a way to finance the bridge project if federal funding falls through.
According to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D), the state’s lawsuit “was based on ‘basic stuff’ that grade school children know about how the federal government works.” He noted that the state had entered into grant authorization agreements with US officials that the federal government was bound to honor.
Company and Agency Financial Issues And Reports Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Issues of Law Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) US Department of Transportation (USDOT) US Gov't Transportation Funding US Infrastructure Funding And Financing InitiativesUnion Members Ratify New US Port Labor Agreement
FreightWaves reports, nearly all 24,000 International Longshoremen’s Association members yesterday voted to approve a new six-year master contract with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), representative of port employers on the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. USMX members approved the agreement last month. The term of the contract is retroactive to October 1, 2024.
“The approval vote gives ILA members a 62% pay raise over the six years of the contract, accelerated raises and improved benefits. The pact allows terminal operators and ocean carriers to introduce limited automation equipment in container handling linked to guarantees that protect union jobs. . . . The vote ends a bitter fight over automation on the docks that featured a strike that shut down container and vehicle handling for three days this past October.” (TRN inserted a link in quoted text.)
Economic & Social Considerations Affecting Transportation Transportation And Infrastructure Workforce IssuesThese are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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