Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Transportation Communications Newsletter

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 – ISSN 1529-1057

Registration Still Open for ITS America’s 2009 Annual Meeting & Exposition, June 1-3, National Harbor, Maryland

Join U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, members of Congress, and other transportation, technology, business and policy leaders at ITS America’s 2009 Annual Meeting & Exposition – located just 15 minutes away from the nation’s capitol. If you are in the transportation industry, you cannot afford to miss this event. ITS America has put together an exciting program of nearly 100 educational and Congressional fact-finding sessions, opportunities to interact with members of Congress and senior government officials, 150,000 square feet of exhibits, tours of local ITS facilities and projects, a “City Streets” technology demonstration staged right outside of the convention center, and a closing reception and technology showcase in the new Capitol Hill Visitors Center. For more information on the program and to register, visit http://www.itsa.org/amregistration.html.


AVIATION

1) Boeing’s Ambitions Crushed Its Wi-Fi Project, Paving Way for Small Competitor
Link to column in the Chicago Tribune:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/chi-tue-greising-aircell-boeing-may19,0,6380328.column

2) Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Launches Mobile Phone Web Site
Link to story in The Dallas Morning News:
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/05/dfw-airport-launches-mobile-ph.html

CARTOGRAPHY

3) Google Street View Trike Captures the Roads Less Driven
Link to story in Wired:
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/05/google-street-view-trike-captures-the-roads-less-driven/

OTHER

4) Miserable Commute? It’s Time to Vent
Web site created by Transportation for America wants an improved transportation system.
Link to column in the Detroit Free Press:
http://www.freep.com/article/20090519/COL12/90519018
Link to My Commute Sucks: http://www.mycommutesucks.org/

RAILROADS

5) Web-Only Rail Discounts Condemned in UK
It is ‘unacceptable’ that low-cost rail fares are easily available only to those with Internet access, MPs say.
Link to BBC News story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8056021.stm
Link to report from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmpubacc/191/191.pdf

SAFETY / SECURITY

6) Airport Security Questioned
Privacy advocates: suspend ‘virtual strip search.’
Link to story and video on KMGH-TV:
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19499650/detail.html
Link to further information from the Electronic Privacy Information Center:
http://epic.org/privacy/airtravel/backscatter/

TRANSIT

7) DC Metro ‘Flight Attendant’ Provides Safety Tips in Video
Link to story in Metro Magazine:
http://www.metro-magazine.com/News/Story/2009/05/D-C-Metro-flight-attendant-provides-safety-tips-in-video.aspx
Link to video:
http://www.metro-magazine.com/MetroTV/?id=445BB529-D7A6-4A8E-99B5-DD5134199BB5&CategoryID=1017

8) Feasibility Study on the Use of Personal GPS Devices in Paratransit
Link to report from the Federal Transit Administration:
http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/TRANSPO_Feasibility_GPS_Paratransit_Final.pdf


News Releases
1) The European Payments Council and GlobalPlatform Sign MOU to Align Mobile Contactless Technology


Job Posting
- Transportation Specialist – Federal Highway Administration – Washington, DC
http://tinyurl.com/pmc8fm


Upcoming Events
The Great American Trucking Show – August 20-22 – Dallas
http://www.gatsonline.com/


Today in Transportation History
1934 **75th anniversary** - Police and striking Teamsters battled in Minneapolis during a general strike as a truck was attempting to unload.
http://www.mnhs.org/library/tips/history_topics/81truckersstrike.html

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Questions, comments about the TCN? Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast at i95berniew@aol.com.
© 2009 Bernie Wagenblast