Friday, April 11, 2008

Transportation Communications Newsletter

Friday, April 11, 2008 -- ISSN 1529-1057

AVIATION

1) Stranded Fliers Say Alerts Failed to Notify Them
Link to story in USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-04-10-cancel_N.htm

2) Flying Blind: Unions Say FAA Radars Could Fail
Link to story in InformationWeek:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/infrastructure/management/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207100915
Link to news release from the Professional Air Safety Specialists:
http://www.newsmgr.com/publish/article_995.shtml

3) Houston Takes Over Southeast Texas Regional Airport Traffic Control
Link to story in The Enterprise:
http://www.southeasttexaslive.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19473808&BRD=2287&PAG=461&dept_id=512588&rfi=6

GPS / NAVIGATION

4) Anti-Crime Car Sat-Nav Warns Where Not to Park
Sanyo GPS includes data from Osaka police on theft hot-spots.
Link to story on TechRadar:
http://www.techradar.com/news/portable-devices/satnav/anti-crime-car-satnav-warns-where-not-to-park-314822
Link to news release and photos from Sanyo:
http://www.sanyo.co.jp/koho/hypertext4/0804news-j/0408-1.html (in Japanese)

MARITIME

5) High-Tech Sound Detectors to Warn Ships of Right Whales
Link to National Geographic News story:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080409-right-whales.html

OTHER

6) UK Motorist Proves that Traffic Camera Can Also Lie
Link to story in Gulf Times:
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=212312&version=1&template_id=38&parent_id=20
Link to further information from Jonathan Greatorex:
http://www.greatorex.org/lambethparking/original_case.htm

7) New Web Site Factors Transportation Costs Into Housing Affordability
Link to story in the Pittsburgh Business Times:
http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/04/07/daily27.html
Link to Housing + Transportation Affordability Index: http://htaindex.cnt.org/

ROADWAYS

8) How Bad is Your Commute? Videotape It
Northern Virginia transportation agency wants residents to record themselves on video, talking about how bad traffic and congestion are, and post it on YouTube.
Link to story on WTOP Radio:
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=600&sid=1384468
Link to Northern Virginia Transportation Authority’s YouTube page:
http://www.youtube.com/NVTAmycommute

SAFETY / SECURITY

9) EU to Release Secret List of Items Banned from Carrying Onboard Airplanes
Link to story in the International Herald Tribune:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/10/business/checkin.php

TRANSIT

10) More Cities Offer Wi-Fi on Buses
Link to story in USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/2008-04-10-wifi_N.htm

11) Chicago Transit Authority to Give Students Smart Cards
Link to story in the Chicago Sun-Times:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/889589,CST-NWS-cta11.article

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

12) A High-Tech Traffic Nightmare Inside a Building
Florida DOT traffic management building suffering structural problems.
Link to story on WFOR-TV:
http://cbs4.com/iteam/Sunguide.Traffic.Control.2.697073.html

13) New Systems from Inrix and Microsoft Help Drivers Avoid Traffic Jams
Link to IDG News Service story:
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/144429/new_systems_help_drivers_avoid_traffic_jams.html

VEHICLES

14) Vehicle Cameras Record Accidents, Mishaps on Four Continents
Link to story and video on Voice of America:
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-04-10-voa29.cfm

Upcoming Events
Traveler and Passenger Information Systems Workshop – May 30 – Tshwane, South Africa
http://www.itssa.org/files/tpi_draft_Programme.pdf


Friday Bonus
7 Crazy Transit Rides You Should Try Before You Die
http://ecoworldly.com/2008/02/07/7-unusual-public-transit-wonders-you-should-try-in-your-lifetime/


Today in Transportation History
2001 – The crew of a US spy plane is released by China after being held for ten days following a collision with a Chinese F-8 fighter jet.
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/04/02/china.aircollision.03/

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© 2008 Bernie Wagenblast