Friday, September 9, 2011

Friday, September 9, 2011

Transportation Communications Newsletter

Friday, September 9, 2011 – ISSN 1529-1057


GPS / NAVIGATION

1) LightSquared Faces Congress, Amends LTE Plan

Link to article in Computerworld:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9219874/LightSquared_faces_Congress_amends_LTE_plan

OTHER

2) Quebec's New Transport Minister Pledges Culture of Openness

Link to article in The Gazette:

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Quebec+transport+minister+pledges+culture+openness/5371567/story.html

3) Geek of the Week: Ryan Peterson, Traffic Data Guru

Link to article on GeekWire:

http://www.geekwire.com/2011/geekweek-ryan-peterson-traffic-data-guru

4) Guide to Integrating Business Processes to Improve Travel Time Reliability

Link to report from the Transportation Research Board:

http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/Guide_to_Integrating_Business_Processes_to_Improve_165284.aspx

PARKING

5) Website Tackles Hassle of University of Michigan Game-Day Parking Mess

Link to article in The Detroit News:

http://www.detnews.com/article/20110909/BIZ/109090373/1001/Website-tackles-hassle-of-game-day-parking-mess

Link to Park n Party: http://www.parknparty.com

RAILROADS

6) Union Pacific CEO Sees Rail-Crash Systems as 'Terrible Waste'

Link to Bloomberg article:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/union-pacific-ceo-sees-rail-crash-systems-as-terrible-waste-.html

ROADWAYS

7) Man Take Florida Tollway Coin Fight to Web

Link to story and video on WESH-TV:

http://www.wesh.com/r/29121939/detail.html

SAFETY / SECURITY

8) Terrorist Watch Lists Should be Put in the Cloud, Analysts Say

Link to article on Nextgov:

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20110909_3277.php

TELEMATICS

9) When 'Smart' Technology is Anything But

Link to article in The Globe and Mail:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/new-cars/auto-news/when-smart-technology-is-anything-but/article2158512/

TRANSIT

10) Introduced Full of Promise, Mass Transit Clipper Cards Stumble

Link to article in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/us/09bcjames.html

11) Eurostar Sees Big Opportunity with Mobile Ticketing

Link to article in Mobile Commerce Daily:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/2011/09/07/eurostar-expands-services-with-mobile-tools

12) South West Trains' Guards Get BlackBerry Phones to Help Passengers

Link to article in the Daily Echo:

http://www.thisishampshire.net/news/9243760.Train_guards_get_Blackberry_phones_to_help_passengers/

13) Seattle Metro's New Bus Stop Signs

Link to Seattle Transit Blog:

http://seattletransitblog.com/2011/09/09/metros-new-bus-stop-signs/

14) Choosing the Right Technology for Indoor Transit Vehicle Location Systems

Link to article in Off Highway Engineering:

http://www.sae.org/mags/SOHE/10136

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

15) New Real-Time Traffic Information Service Launched in Portugal

Link to article in The Portugal News:

http://www.theportugalnews.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=1129-16

16) Twin Cities Count on Cameras, VMS and a Great Integrator

Link to article in Security Dealer & Integrator:

http://www.securityinfowatch.com/twin-cities-count-cameras-vms-and-a-great-integrator

VEHICLES

17) Auto Safety Research Quietly Becoming Big Business for Ann Arbor Region

Link to article on AnnArbor.com:

http://www.annarbor.com/business-review/auto-safety-research-quietly-becoming-big-business-for-ann-arbor-region/

News Releases

1) Co-Cities: Cooperative Mobility Services to Improve Urban Traffic Information Management

2) Union Pacific Railroad Museum Launches New Website

3) DART Now Provides Bus Updates Via Text Messages

4) Fox News, CNBC, MSNBC, BBC World News and Row 44 Delivering Live Television In-Flight to Passengers’ Wi-Fi Devices

5) Inaugural Future Travel Experience Awards Recognize YVR, Qantas, Schiphol, KLM, Christchurch Airport, Lufthansa and Air France

6) TomTom and Hertz Partner to Ensure Drivers are Neverlost

Bernie's Notes

Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Almost everyone who was old enough to remember has a story from that day and I thought I'd briefly share mine.

I was up early on Tuesday morning prepping the TCN. I wanted to get a jump on it because I was leaving for a conference of the Highway Operations Group of the I-95 Corridor Coalition in Atlantic City. Neither the TV nor radio were on so my first notification was an email from Virginia saying a commuter plane had hit the World Trade Center. I immediately turned on the TV looking for more information.

For a decade I worked for the Port Authority of NY & NJ, which owned the WTC and had its headquarters in 1 WTC, so my immediate thoughts were of my former colleagues. I was in 1 WTC for a meeting in the Aviation Department just a couple of weeks before the attack and recalled how security to enter the building had increased dramatically since the 1993 bombing. What stands out in my memory was just the disbelief of how things kept getting worse as the day progressed and not knowing the fate of my friends. I don't think I'll ever forget the smell of the smoke from the fire the next day as the winds shifted to the west.

I had some sense of healing three years later when I had the honor of being the announcer for the cornerstone laying ceremony for 1 World Trade Center on July 4th, 2004. The scars from that day, however, will be with many of us forever.

This weekend we remember all those who died ten years ago. I especially think of my 84 former Port Authority co-workers who were lost that day.

Solicitation

- Solicitation – Crisis Management Center Staffing – US DOT

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=7bc915e9a62c379d7cbb1a92ad84f68b&tab=core&_cview=1

Upcoming Events

Airports Council International - North America Annual Conference & Exhibition – October 16-19 – San Diego

http://2011.aci-na.org/

Friday Bonus

New York is sometimes described as impersonal due to its size. There are times, though, where you can get personal attention, even in the subway.

http://youtu.be/Xopwmval2jY

Today in Transportation History

1966 **45th anniversary** The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act and the Highway Safety Act were signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson.

http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/49C301.txt

http://artandhistory.house.gov/highlights.aspx?action=view&intID=525

======================================================================

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© 2011 Bernie Wagenblast Communications, LLC www.bwcommunications.net

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