Monday, February 2, 2009

Transportation Communications Newsletter

Monday, February 2, 2009 -- ISSN 1529-1057

AVIATION

1) US Senate Commerce Committee Members Eye Boost for Air Traffic Control
Link to story from CongressDaily:
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090130_3067.php?zone=ngtoday

2) Sensors to Boost Air Navigation at Queenstown, New Zealand
Link to story in The Southland Times:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southlandtimes/4834986a6570.html

3) United Airlines Tests Faster Bag Tags
Baggage identification will be equipped with RFID chips.
Link to story in USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2009-02-02-airport-check-in-travel_N.htm

BUSES

4) Oregon’s Lane Transit District Drawn to Test Magnet Control of Buses
The program will use sensors and computers to follow magnetic markers in the road.
Link to story in The Register-Guard:
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/6234482-35/story.csp

CAMERAS

5) Scandal Erupts in Italy Over Alleged Red Light Enforcement Scam
Link to story in story ITS International:
http://www.itsinternational.com/news/article.cfm?recordID=14708

6) UK Speed Camera Fines Rise Sevenfold
Link to story in Traffic Technology International:
http://www.traffictechnologytoday.com/industry-blogs.php?BlogID=154

GPS / NAVIGATION

7) GPS Gets More Assists
Although A-GPS is one of the most reliable location technologies, it needs an assist in challenging environments.
Link to story in WirelessWeek:
http://www.wirelessweek.com/Article-GPS-More-Assists-020109.aspx

OTHER

8) New Rules Sought for News-Traffic Copters
Link to story in Radio Business Report:
http://www.rbr.com/media-news/12629.html

9) LimeWire Creator Brings Open-Source Approach to Urban Planning
Link to story in Wired:
http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/01/mark-gorton-ceo.html
Link to additional information on GeoServer: http://geoserver.org/

10) US Agencies Struggling to Make Connections Online
Link to story in the National Journal:
http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/no_20090126_4207.php

11) Open Source Politics Breathe New Life Into Toronto
Link to story in The Globe and Mail:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090130.wgtchange31/BNStory/

12) Delaware DOT Goes Public Online
Link to story in The News Journal:
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090201/NEWS02/902010388/1007

RAILROADS

13) Union Pacific Uses Video Game Simulators to Train Employees
Link to AP story:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/wire/chi-ap-ne-virtualrailroad,0,1453802.story

14) February Edition of Signal Online
Link to newsletter from the European Rail Traffic Management System:
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/rail/interoperability/ertms/doc/010_signal_2009_02_en.pdf

ROADWAYS

15) Intelligent Transportation Using VANET
Researchers are working on a Vehicular Adhoc Network to make transportation systems more intelligent so they can provide a driver with crucial info.
Link to story in PCQuest:
http://pcquest.ciol.com/content/technology/2009/109020101.asp

16) Think Twice Before Using ‘Rage’ Cards
Company is selling a flip book of signs you can flash to other drivers to make sure they know exactly what you're thinking.
Link to story in the Arizona Star:
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/278412
Link to further information on Road Rage Cards: http://www.roadragecards.com/

SAFETY / SECURITY

17) Local Police Want Right to Jam Wireless Signals
Link to story in The Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/31/AR2009013101548.html

18) Quake Takes Out Alert System
Link to story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/398116_quake31.html

19) Canadian Cell Phone Suppliers Must Show 911 Callers’ Location by February 2010
Link to CBC News story:
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/02/02/tech-911-crtc.html
Link to notice from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2009/2009-40.htm

TRANSIT

20) BART Signs 20-Year Deal for Systemwide Wi-Fi
Link to story in the San Francisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/31/BA6015KD4C.DTL

21) Comcast Tests Free Wi-Fi at NJ Transit Rail Stations and Parking Lots
Link to story in InformationWeek:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/wifiwimax/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=213000324&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_News

22) Ottawa Transit’s Public Relations Challenge
Forget about winning back riders — OC Transpo’s real task will be earning taxpayers’ trust, experts say.
Link to story in The Ottawa Citizen:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Business/Transit+public+relations+challenge/1242509/story.html

23) In Wake of Deadly Accident, Los Angeles MTA Makes Safety Fixes to Help Blind Riders
Link to story in the Los Angeles Times:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/01/in-wake-of-dead.html

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

24) Snow Britain: Transport Web Sites Crash Under Demand for Information
Link to story in the Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/4434060/Snow-Britain-transport-websites-crash-under-demand-for-information.html

25) Tampa Bay Commuters Air Discontent Over Satellite Radio Merger
Link to story in the St. Petersburg Times:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/roads/article972018.ece

26) Tweeting Away Toward an Easier Commute
Maryland State Highway Administration provided updates via Twitter during the inauguration. MTA provides Commuter Connection show.
Link to column in The Frederick News-Post:
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/reporters_notebooks_display.htm?StoryID=85898
Link to MTA Commuter Connections: http://www.mtamaryland.com/about/mtalocaltvprogram/index.cfm

27) UK Traffic Information Supplier UBC Media Sells Commercial Division to Global Traffic Network
Link to story in the Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/02/ubc-commercial-global-traffic-network
Link to news release from UBC:
http://www.unique.com/pressview.php?ID=198

VEHICLES

28) US Justice Department Program Makes It Easier to Track Cars’ Title History
Link to AP story:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/01/29/america/Auto-Fraud.php
Link to National Motor Vehicle Title Information System: http://www.nmvtis.gov/

29) Researchers Propose Safer High Beams All the Time
Link to AP story:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iTjmYgKNDQW6HfASenZ15HO0o-YAD963LNI00


News Releases
1) VehSmart Launches the First Ever Personal Remote Panic Safety
2) Spanish Language Version of Directions Magazine Launched
3) FCC Announces Summit on Deployment and Operational Guidelines for Next Generation IP-Enabled 911 and E911 Services
4) Precise Orbit Determination for Jason-1 Satellite Using On-Board GPS Data with Centimeter-Level Accuracy
5) SiRF Gets In Sync with Auto Industry
6) Verizon Hub Features VZ Navigator Connectivity, Powered by Navteq Maps and Traffic
7) Egis Project Becomes Market Leader in Electronic Toll Collection in Ireland


Upcoming Events
7th Annual Cargo Aircraft & Operations Conference – April 1-2 – Brussels
http://tinyurl.com/ad8o58


Today in Transportation History
1709 **300th anniversary** - Alexander Selkirk was rescued from an island in the South Pacific after being a castaway over four years. He may have been in the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe.
http://books.google.com/books?id=DSARmYz3DkYC&printsec=titlepage

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© 2009 Bernie Wagenblast