Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Transportation Communications Newsletter

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 -- ISSN 1529-1057

FREIGHT ACADEMY - An Immersion Program for Public Sector Transportation Professionals Application Deadline is THIS Friday, July 25 - Scholarships Available! The I-95 Corridor Coalition is excited to announce the first offering of the Freight Academy - a unique, week-long immersion program designed to efficiently train public sector agency staff involved in planning, operational, and/or management work that impact goods movement decisions, investments and interactions. Participants will have opportunities to see and learn about the inner workings of the goods movements system, including marine terminals, the distribution centers of major corporations, air cargo operations, trucking operations, and rail operations. The inaugural Academy program will be conducted at the Center for Advanced Infrastructure Training at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ from October 26 – 31, 2008. The program is open to applicants from throughout North America. Scholarships are available for applicants from I-95 Corridor Coalition member agencies. The application deadline is July 25, 2008. Non-scholarship program fees due September 26, 2008. For more information and the application form please see: www.freightacademy.org.


AVIATION

1) Credit Card Fraud Investigation Targets Self-Service Kiosks at Toronto Airport
Link to story in The Globe and Mail:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080723.RCREDIT23N/TPStory/National

2) Radar Expert Laments Media Apathy
Freedom of Information request showed Air Force tracking UFO in Texas but newspapers show little interest.
Link to story in the Herald Tribune:
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080722/BLOG32/690113654/0/BLOG12&title=Radar_expert_laments_media_apathy_

CAMERAS

3) Jakarta Traffic Management Center Accesses 150 City CCTV Cameras
Link to story in The Jakarta Post:
http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailcity.asp?fileid=20080723.C05&irec=4

MARITIME

4) Asia’s Seaport Tech
IT is streamlining port operations in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Link to story in CIO Asia:
http://www.cio-asia.com/ShowPage.aspx?pagetype=2&articleid=8663&pubid=5&issueid=140

ROADWAYS

5) Web Site Claims to Help Drivers Avoid Speed Traps
Link to Reuters story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/23/AR2008072302411.html
Link to Njection: http://njection.com

6) UAE Lifts Carpooling Ban – Creates Web Site to Register Riders
Link to story in Arab News:
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=24&section=0&article=112053&d=23&m=7&y=2008
Link to Sharekni: http://www.sharekni.ae

SAFETY / SECURITY

7) Photographers Detail Difficulties Shooting Washington Union Station
Link to story in The Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/22/AR2008072202671.html
Link to news release from Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton:
http://www.norton.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=829

TELEMATICS

8) Telematics Connects with Consumers
Link to story from Automotive News:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-9995668-48.html

TRANSIT

9) Massachusetts Commuters Left in Dark Over Train Delays
Communications failure led to snafu.
Link to story in the Telegram & Gazette:
http://www.telegram.com/article/20080723/NEWS/807230354/1003/NEWS03

10) Real-Time Text Alerts Highlight of New York MTA Plan
Link to story in The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/23/nyregion/23text.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

11) Clever Help for Maryland Transit Riders
Link to story in The Baltimore Sun:
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bay_environment/blog/2008/07/clever_help_for_transit_commut.html

12) Victorian Government Ad Blitz for the People, Says Transport Minister
Link to story in The Age:
http://www.theage.com.au/national/transport-ad-blitz-for-the-people-says-kosky-20080722-3jcn.html

13) Single Ticket Pilot Imminent in Gauteng Province, South Africa
Link to story on ITWeb:
http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/business/2008/0807231038.asp?O=FPTOP&S=RFID%20and%20Barcodes&A=RFI

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

14) Beijing’s Plan to Fight Olympic Traffic
The Games will be a test for Beijing's fudong che, or "floating car" program, which uses taxi GPS data to give drivers the fastest routes.
Link to story in BusinessWeek:
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jul2008/gb20080723_493294.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_global+business

15) There is No Silver Bullet - Accurate Traffic Information Requires Multiple Data Sources
Link to article in Directions Magazine:
http://www.directionsmag.com/article.php?article_id=2823&trv=1


News Releases
1) National Air Transportation Association Launches Hotline to Report Illegal Charters


Solicitation
- Request for Proposals - Various Services for SANDAG 511 Traveler Information System
Michael.Berman@icxt.com


Upcoming Events
North American Freight Flows Conference: Understanding Changes and Improving Data Sources – September 22-23 – Irvine, California
http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=9d1f9b78-b729-4c8d-988b-eef1f34f730c


Today in Transportation History
1968 **40th anniversary** - An El Al jet, on a flight from Rome to Lod, was hijacked to Algiers.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/hijacked/peopleevents/p_crews.html

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Questions, comments about the TCN? Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast at i95berniew@aol.com.
© 2008 Bernie Wagenblast