Monday, November 26, 2007

Transportation Communications Newsletter

Monday, November 26, 2007 -- ISSN 1529-1057

Bernie Wagenblast Voice Services
Want to make your recorded phone messages sound warm and friendly? Do you need a professional-sounding voice for on-board announcements on your transit system?
Have a narrated Web demo that needs something extra? If so, I can help. You know me through my daily visits to your in-box via the TCN, but I also use my extensive transportation experience to assist organizations by providing professional voice recordings. My resume includes being the voice of Newark Liberty International Airport, the original announcer for E-ZPass in NYC and the voice heard by thousands daily on AirTrain JFK. You can learn more about what I’ve done and hear samples of my work by visiting http://brwagenblast.googlepages.com/voice. Please contact me at i95berniew@aol.com to learn how I can help your organization.


1) London Underground to Launch Phone-Swipe Fare-Payment Scheme
Link to story in The Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2216917,00.html

2) Boston T to Test Real-Time Alert System
Link to story in The Boston Globe:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/11/26/t_to_test_real_time_alert_system/

3) Did Technology Speed Your Thanksgiving Trek?
Link to column in The Washington Post:
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2007/11/did_technology_speed_your_than_1.html

4) Best Sonar Should Help Spot Icebergs
Link to story in the Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/25/wexplorer325.xml

5) Houston Police Testing Unmanned Surveillance Aircraft
Link to story and video report on KPRC-TV:
http://www.click2houston.com/investigates/14659066/detail.html

6) New York City Taxi Plan is Ear-Raising
Test may allow those with hearing aids to better communicate with cab drivers.
Link to story in the New York Post:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/11262007/news/regionalnews/taxi_plan_is_ear_raising_156180.htm

7) New Illinois Hotline Helps You Rat Out Bad Parents for Not Buckling Children
Link to story in the Daily Herald:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=84159&src=2
Link to more information from Children’s Hospital of Illinois:
http://www.childrenshospitalofil.org/top/families/Be+A+Buckle+Buddy.htm

8) Voice of the Tube Silenced by London Underground
Link to BBC News story and video report:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7113545.stm
Link to original story in the Daily Mail:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=496165&in_page_id=1770

9) Washington State-Based Company Tracks What Moves
Link to story in The Seattle Times:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004035027_btinterface26.html
Link to SARS, Inc.: http://www.sarsinc.com/

10) Lahar Siren Upgrade May Include Chimes
Officials considering using the sound of bells when testing warning system.
Link to AP story:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004035115_lahar26.html

11) The Goodbye to Paper Airline Tickets is Speeding Up
Link to story in The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/travel/25COMetickets.html (free registration required)

12) US Army’s Black Hawk Now Flies Digital Skies
Link to CNET News story:
http://www.news.com/Photos-Armys-Black-Hawk-now-flies-digital-skies/2300-11397_3-6219628.html?tag=nefd.lede

13) 16 Signs Now Alert Drivers to Pay Tacoma Narrows Toll
Link to AP story:
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/11746801.html

14) Safety-Conscious Automakers Push IC System-Level Approach
Link to story in EE Times:
http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=VLHI4ASGQYQXYQSNDLSCKHA?articleID=204201018

15) Are Crosswalk Lights Worth the High Cost?
Link to story in the Arizona Daily Star:
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/212214

16) Timing is Everything for Traffic Control
Link to story in The Signal:
http://www.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=51859&format=html

17) Arizona to Offer Cell Phone Air Quality Alerts
Link to story in the East Valley Tribune:
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/102690
Link to news release from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality:
http://www.azdeq.gov/function/news/2007/download/1120.pdf

18) DART Bus Travel Just Got Easier
Electronic signs at Delaware stops give four lines of info.
Link to story in The News Journal:
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071125/NEWS/711250370/1006/NEWS

19) Waiting on the Bus, but Knowing How Long
New technology keeps Athens, Georgia bus riders up-to-date.
Link to story in The Athens Banner-Herald:
http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/112407/news_20071124074.shtml

20) New Smart Card Improves Commuting Operating Efficiencies for South African Bus Company
Link to story in Engineering News:
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article.php?a_id=120886

21) Transit Fare Cards: Time for SEPTA to Get Smart
Link to editorial in The Philadelphia Inquirer:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20071126_Editorial___Transit_Fare_Cards.html

22) Toyota Simulator Aims to Eliminate Traffic Deaths
Link to Reuters story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071126/tc_nm/toyota_safety_dc
Link to news release from Toyota:
http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/news/07/1126_1.html

23) All Hands on Deck: Securing Overseas Freight
Link to story in Go!:
http://www.go-explore-trans.org/2007/nov-dec/secure_freight.cfm

24) Bus Radio Opens to Kids’ Mixed Reviews in Central Florida
Link to story in the Orlando Sentinel:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-busradio2307nov23,0,4853983.story


News Releases

1) Westwood One to Provide Interactive Traffic Information to Citadel Broadcasting
2) ITS America’s Public Safety Advisory Group Elects New Leadership
3) Toyota Demonstrates ITS-Based Safety Technology
4) Washington-Hosted Seminar on Kazakhstan’s Transport Infrastructure and Communications


Solicitation
- Invitation to Negotiate – Implementation of a Probe-Based Data Collection Concept Test – Florida Department of Transportation
http://vbs.dms.state.fl.us/vbs/ad.view_ad?advertisement_key_num=67998


Upcoming Events
Universities’ Transport Studies Group 40th Annual Conference – January 3-5 – Southampton, UK
http://www.utsg.net/conf.php


Today in Transportation History
1927 **80th anniversary** - Ford announced the Model A. It replaced the Model T which was introduced in 1908.
http://www.abarnyard.com/

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Questions, comments about the TCN? Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast at i95berniew@aol.com.
© 2007 Bernie Wagenblast