Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Transportation Communications Newsletter

Tuesday, December 16, 2008 -- ISSN 1529-1057

Program Manager for Safety

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is seeking a Program Manager for Safety in Washington, DC to assist in the work of the Standing Committee on Highway Traffic Safety and its Subcommittee on Safety Management, as well as coordinate the safety efforts of AASHTO’s other committees.
A broad understanding of the technical aspects of highway and transportation engineering and public works management and a sound comprehension of the administrative, legislative, and regulatory process at the federal and state levels is required. Travel 70–90 days per year. A B.S. in engineering or related safety technical field is required, post-graduate degree preferred. A min. of 7 years of professional exp. in transportation practice. Send resume to cbeauvais@aashto.org. EOE. For more information, see http://transportation1.org/employmentopps/?lid=2153.


AVIATION

1) US Airways Pilots Halt Voluntary Data-Sharing Program
Link to story in The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122939040059509171.html

BUSES

2) New York MTA Puts Brakes on Bus Cams
Link to story in the New York Post:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12162008/news/regionalnews/mta_puts_brakes_on_bus_cams_144459.htm

ELECTRONIC TOLLING

3) E-ZPass Passes Its First Rhode Island Test
Link to story in The Providence Journal:
http://newsblog.projo.com/2008/12/ezpass-launches.html

GPS / NAVIGATION

4) Rik Temmink, Tele Atlas: ‘With TomTom User-Generated Content We are Like Kids in a Candy Shop’
Link to interview in GPS Business News:
http://www.gpsbusinessnews.com/index.php?action=article&numero=1235

OTHER

5) UK Department for Transport Computer Upgrade was £81 Million Disaster
Link to story in The Scotsman:
http://news.scotsman.com/politics/Transport-computer-upgrade-was-81m.4795465.jp

RAILROADS

6) Call Might Have Averted Amtrak Crash in Missouri
Link to story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/85D8D372CDBF6AAF862575210014B8B9?OpenDocument

SAFETY / SECURITY

7) Facing TWIC Criticism, US Transportation Security Administration Temporarily Allows Alternate ID at Ports
Link to story in Land Line Magazine:
http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2008/Dec08/121508/121508-02.htm

TELEMATICS

8) Telematics: When Your Car is Smarter than You
Link to story in the Shanghai Daily:
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=384781

TRANSIT

9) Los Angeles MTA to Adopt Electronic Fare Card System
Link to story in the Los Angeles Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-tap16-2008dec16,0,2791732.story

10) Toronto Transit Wait Times on Texts, Screens
Link to story in the Toronto Star:
http://www.thestar.com/article/554383
Link to further information from the Toronto Transit Commission:
http://www3.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Projects_and_initiatives/Next_vehicle_information_system/index.jsp

11) Video Speeds Up Chicago Transit Authority Repairs
Time-lapse photos document weekend rebuilding of elevated tracks and help identify efficiencies for future projects.
Link to column in the Chicago Tribune:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/autocorner/chi-getting-around-15-dec15,0,4261279.column

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

12) Virginia DOT Upgrades I-81 Messaging
Link to story in The Roanoke Times:
http://www.roanoke.com/business/wb/187849

13) Statewide Opportunities for Linking Planning and Operations – A Primer
Link to publication from the Federal Highway Administration:
http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop08028/index.htm

14) Information Systems, Geographic Information Systems, and Advanced Computing
Link to reports from the Transportation Research Board:
http://www.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=9793


News Releases
1) Intelligent Transport Systems and Services: Initiative for Accelerated Deployment Across Europe
2) Intelligent Transport Systems Action Plan – Key Questions and Answers
3) FlightStats Launches UK Site and European Flight Trackers
4) Washington Metro Updates Public Address System
5) ‘Connect by Hertz’ Launches Global Car Sharing Initiative
6) VTI Technologies: Accurate Navigation Now Possible Without GPS
7) Live at CeBIT 2009: Electronic Driver Assistance Comes of Age
8) Avis Budget Group to Roll Out TransCore’s eZGo Anywhere Wireless Toll Transponders for US Car Fleet


Job Postings
- Interdisciplinary, Supervisory General Engineer/Operations Research Analyst – Volpe National Transportation Systems Center – Cambridge, Massachusetts
http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/getjob.asp?JobID=78070686 (Multimodal Logistics Enterprise Division)
http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/getjob.asp?JobID=78070321 (Systems Engineering and Safety Division)
http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/getjob.asp?JobID=78070854 (Crash Avoidance and Advanced Safety Systems Division)
http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/getjob.asp?JobID=78070552 (Operations Risk Assessment and Terminal Systems Division)


Upcoming Events
Webinar: Individualized Marketing: Where Do We Go From Here? – March 3
http://webinars.cullbridge.com/course/info.php?id=44


Today in Transportation History
1913 **95th anniversary** - The Michigan Central Depot opened in Detroit. When it opened it was the tallest railroad station in the world.
http://user.mc.net/~louisvw/depot/det-mc/det-mc.htm

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© 2008 Bernie Wagenblast