Monday, April 12, 2010

Transportation Communications Newsletter

Monday, April 12, 2010 – ISSN 1529-1057

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Come see the best of ITS at the ITS America Annual Meeting & Expo, May 3-5 in Houston!

·       New speakers just added! Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee join an impressive group at the podium.

·       Browse nearly 150 booths led by ITS industry experts in the 150,000 square-foot exhibit hall.

·       Catch a high-tech demo between sessions. We’ll have an 18-wheel truck rollover response - complete with police helicopter, fire and rescue and live video, and a Bus Rapid Transit demo featuring a “lane assist” guidance system.

AVIATION

1) Salt Lake Minor League Baseball Team Credits Plane Banner with Attendance Boost

Link to article in the Salt Lake Tribune:

http://www.sltrib.com/bees/ci_14861668

CAMERAS

2) Florida Math Tutor Uses Numbers to Fight Red-Light Camera Ticket

Link to story and video on WBBH-TV:

http://www.nbc-2.com/Global/story.asp?S=12265823

3) Five Louisiana Bills Target Traffic Cams

Link to article in The Advocate:

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/90587519.html

4) Beware Photo Radar Ticket Wording in Arizona

State representative says efforts to identify drivers are designed solely to generate money.

Link to Capitol Media Services article:

http://azdailysun.com/news/local/state-and-regional/article_82960f4d-fb5e-55db-838d-d3b0eaac325f.html

CARTOGRAPHY

5) Volunteers Create New Digital Maps

Link to article in the San Jose Mercury News:

http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_14856802

ELECTRONIC TOLLING

6) Are Florida Rental Car Drivers Paying Double the Road Tolls?

State investigating whether companies tell customers their vehicles have automatic toll-paying systems.

Link to article in the Sun Sentinel:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-rental-car-tolls-0409-20100412,0,511504.story

GPS / NAVIGATION

7) Navigator Technology Takes GPS to a New High

Link to article in Space Daily:

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Navigator_Technology_Takes_GPS_To_A_New_High_999.html

OTHER

8) New York City Taxi Chief Wants to Make Cabs More User Friendly

Link to article in the New York Post:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/taxi_chief_touching_vow_to_riders_vtKadUtQ4W0jZqWVI2xEhM

9) Taking It to the Streets: Collecting Travel Time Data, Speed with Bluetooth Technology

Link to article in Texas Transportation Researcher:

http://tti.tamu.edu/publications/researcher/newsletter.htm?vol=46&issue=1&article=3&year=2010

PARKING

10) Parking-Spot Finding in New York Gets Digital Aid

Link to article in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/nyregion/11critic.html

PUBLIC INFORMATION / EDUCATION

11) Kansas DOT Uses YouTube to Illustrate Road Woes

Link to AP article:

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9EUG7NG1.htm

RAILROADS

12) Soon, Tweet or Access E-Mails While Traveling in Trains in India

Link to article in The Economic Times:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/Soon-tweet-or-access-e-mails-while-travelling-in-trains/articleshow/5783998.cms

ROADWAYS

13) A Historic Sense of Direction

Centuries-old milestones dot the Connecticut landscape.

Link to commentary in the Hartford Courant:

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/hc-plc-leff-historical-mileston.artapr11,0,4264909.story

SAFETY / SECURITY

14) NHTSA to Focus on Pedestrian Safety

Officials say new technology soon will detect walkers, cyclists to prevent fatal accidents.

Link to article in The Detroit News:

http://www.detnews.com/article/20100410/AUTO01/4100312/1148/NHTSA-to-focus-on-pedestrian-safety

15) Canadian ePassports to Launch in 2012

Link to CBC News story:

http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/04/07/canadian-epassports.html

16) Scanners, Sensors are Wrong Way to Secure the Subway

Link to commentary in the Daily News:

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/04/07/2010-04-07_scanners_sensors_are_wrong_way_to_secure_the_subway.html

TRANSIT

17) Oyster Brand Bought for £1 Million by Transport for London

Link to BBC News story:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8615584.stm

18) New Electronic Ticketing System for New South Wales

Link to AAP article:

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/new-electronic-ticketing-system-for-nsw-20100411-s0hk.html

19) San Francisco Bay Area Transit On Board with New Payment Card

Link to story and audio report on KCBS Radio:

http://www.kcbs.com/bayareanews/Bay-Area-Transit-On-Board-With-Clipper/6774144

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

20) New Jersey Turnpike Authority Remakes Web Site with Commuters in Mind

Link to article in the Asbury Park Press:

http://www.app.com/article/20100410/NEWS/4100324/Turnpike-Authority-remakes-Web-site-with-commuters-in-mind

21) Clueless in Charlotte, North Carolina? Not if You Read These Signs

Link to article in The Charlotte Observer:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/04/11/1369699/clueless-in-the-queen-city-not.html

22) Michelin App Delivers Maps, Real-Time Traffic Info

Link to article in Tire Review:

http://www.tirereview.com/Article/72621/michelin_app_delivers_maps_realtime_traffic_info.aspx

VEHICLES

23) Audi to Climb Pikes Peak Without a Driver

Link to AP article:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j6SDS8jMxDqLp69_FVqJXo7Aq7MAD9EVFBL01

24) The Future of In-Car Technology

Link to article in Car and Driver:

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/10q2/the_future_of_in-car_technology-feature

25) Look to Korea for How Connected Cars Can Save Money, Planet

Link to blog on Earth2Tech:

http://earth2tech.com/2010/04/11/look-to-korea-for-how-connected-cars-can-save-money-planet/

News Releases

1) Multitasking Pedestrians Tempt Tragedy; Operation Lifesaver/MARTA Begin Safety PSA Campaign

2) Car Rear Seat Entertainment Shipments Set to Nearly Double by 2015

3) Intelligent Transportation Systems – A Global Market Perspective

4) American Society of Civil Engineers Launches Revamped Web Site

5) Trafficmaster: Easy to Use International Rescue Now Available on the Blackberry

Upcoming Events

MIT Short Course – Modeling and Simulation of Transportation Networks – August 2-6 – Cambridge, Massachusetts

http://web.mit.edu/professional/short-programs/courses/simulation_transportation.html

Today in Transportation History    

1935 **75^th anniversary** The first flight of the Bristol Blenheim, a British light bomber, was made.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/history_old/blen1.html

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