Transportation Communications Newsletter: Thursday, October 13, 2011

Transportation Communications Newsletter

Thursday, October 13, 2011 – ISSN 1529-1057

GEWI to Demonstrate Connected Vehicle at World Congress

At ITS World Congress in Orlando, GEWI and BMW will demonstrate a Connected Vehicle service for Local Hazard Warning (LHW) in the Mobility section of the Technology Showcase. Attendees to World Congress will have an opportunity to ride in the demonstration vehicle. GEWI will also unveil a new application to allow government and commercial users to enter traffic data on the iPad. The planned markets for which this could be used are Mobile Data Entry and Data Quality Assurance. Traffic Incident Management and Motorist Assistance are markets also being considered. GEWI will also be speaking in two sessions on advanced traffic technologies at the conference. To schedule a Mobile Traffic Data Entry demo or Connected Vehicle ride, contact jim.oneill@gewi.com

AVIATION

1) Air France Crash Book Shows Transcript of Pilot Confusion

Link to Bloomberg article:

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-13/air-france-crash-book-shows-transcript-of-pilot-confusion.html

2) Two Airlines Battle Mileage-Tracking Websites

Link to article in The Wall Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204774604576627142338884936.html

3) London's Farmers Offer 60-Second Window to Target Air Passengers with Ads

Link to Bloomberg article:

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-12/london-s-farmers-offer-60-second-window-to-target-air-passengers.html

4) Lehigh Valley International Airport Rebrands Itself with New Website, Logo

Link to article in The Express Times:

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2011/10/lehigh_valley_international_ai_17.html

Link to website: http://www.flylvia.com/

5) Aviation Safety: Enhanced Oversight and Improved Availability of Risk- Based Data Could Further Improve Safety

Link to report from the US Government Accountability Office:

http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-24

BICYCLES

6) GM to Bicyclists: We're Sorry We Offended You

Link to article on Transportation Nation:

http://transportationnation.org/2011/10/12/gm-to-bicyclists-were-sorry-we-offended-you/

GPS / NAVIGATION

7) LightSquared: GPS Industry has Campaign to Discredit Company

Link to article in The Hill:

http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/187163-lightsquared-accuses-gps-industry-of-orchestrating-political-campaign

OTHER

8) Science, Traffic Merge at ITS World Congress

Link to article in the Orlando Sentinel:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-intelligent-transportation-convention-20111013,0,5259119.story

9) ARS Software Talking to Indian States About Testing ITS Technology

Link to article in Business Line:

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/info-tech/article2534668.ece

PEDESTRIANS

10) New Website Maps Dangerous Intersections for Cyclists, Pedestrians in New York City

Link to story and video on WNBC-TV:

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Dangerous-Intersection-Bicycle-Pedestrian-Transportation-Alternatives-Department-of-Transportation-131589843.html

Link to CrashStat: http://crashstat.org/sites/default/files/splash2011.html

RAILROADS

11) Local Emergency Officials Say They Weren't Notified of Propane Tanker Derailment in Rexburg, Idaho

Link to article in the Standard Journal:

http://www.rexburgstandardjournal.com/news/fixing-a-tanker-train-derailment/article_e285efd2-f462-11e0-a555-001cc4c03286.html

12) Freight Railroads Open the Communication Floodgates

Link to commentary in Progressive Railroading:

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/rail_industry_trends/article/Opening-the-communication-floodgates-%E2%80%94-by-Pat-Foran-Context-October-2011--28314

ROADWAYS

13) Plans to Overhaul UK Road Signs Announced

Link to article in The Independent:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/plans-to-overhaul-uk-road-signs-announced-2369920.html

Link to news release from the Department for Transport:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/news/press-releases/dft-press-20111013a

SAFETY / SECURITY

14) Squad-Car Tech Blamed in Cops' Distracted Driving Crashes

Link to article on Fridley Patch:

http://fridley.patch.com/articles/squad-car-tech-blamed-in-cops-distracted-driving-crashes

Link to report:

http://fridley.patch.com/articles/squad-car-tech-blamed-in-cops-distracted-driving-crashes#pdf-8089290

15) Los Angeles Metrolink CEO John Fenton Talks About Safety Culture

Link to audio interview in Progressive Railroading:

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/passenger_rail/audiovideo/Metrolink-CEO-John-Fenton-talks-about-the-safety-culture--28098

TRANSIT

16) NJ Transit Gets Low Grades on Rail Service in Customer Service Survey

Agency says communication during disruptions being improved.

Link to article in The Star-Ledger:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/10/nj_transit_gets_low_grades_in.html

17) 'Subway Surfer' Becomes a Mini-Celebrity, Worrying New York City Transit Officials

Link to article in The New York Times:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/subway-surfer-becomes-a-mini-celebrity-worrying-transit-officials/

Link to video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/mH6Lt8QFOIc

18) Belfast Bus Rapid Transit Plans Unveiled

Link to story and video on UTV News:

http://www.u.tv/News/City-rapid-transit-plans-unveiled/b40124db-b010-44c7-8cd6-4778dd0c7c52

19) Operations Transparency: Acting on Public Transportation Data

Link to commentary in Computerworld UK:

http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/si-and-tech-insights/2011/10/operations-transparency-acting-on-public-transportation-data/index.htm

20) Commuter Benefits Work for Us Coalition Launches Website

Link to website:

http://www.commuterbenefitsworkforus.com/

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

21) Avoid Jams in Jakarta with Real-Time Websites

Link to article in The Jakarta Post:

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/10/13/avoid-jams-with-real-time-websites.html

VEHICLES

22) Deaf Truck Drivers Can Now Apply for CDL Exemptions

Link to article in Heavy Duty Trucking:

http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=74991

Link to news release from the National Association of the Deaf:

http://www.nad.org/news/2011/10/deaf-truck-drivers-urged-apply-cdl-and-b-exemptions

23) The Next Boom in Mobile Devices is the Car

Link to article in The New York Times:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/the-next-boom-in-mobile-devices-is-the-car/?smid=tw-nytimesbits&seid=auto

24) Nissan's Future Safety Tech: Reducing Accidents, Injuries

Link to article on All Car Tech:

http://www.allcartech.com/news/1067272_nissans-future-safety-tech-reducing-accidents-injury

25) Road Talk – Fall 2011

- Ontario to Lead the World in Connected Vehicle Technology (page 1)

- Ontario to Host Test-Bed for Connected Vehicle Technology (page 3)

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/transtek/roadtalk/rt17-4/RT17-4.pdf

News Releases

1) Sensys Networks Provides International Drive Arterial Travel Time System to Florida’s Orange County Public Works

2) Iteris Launches iPerform Solutions for Measurement and Management of Intelligent Transportation Networks

3) Florida DOT Hosts the Nation's Newest Connected Vehicle Test Bed

4) Battelle Scientists Develop Mileage-Based User Fee Demonstration

5) Colorado DOT Adds ITS to West Vail Pass to Improve Safety

6) Colorado DOT Adds Maintenance Decision Support System to Snowplows in Denver Area

7) Houston Metro Plans App with Real-Time Bus Info and Schedule Information

8) Gulf Air Launches the First Aircraft in the World with Global Live Television

9) Illinois Tollway Seeks New Electronic Tolling Solutions

10) Alpine Electronics Selects Navteq Traffic to Power First In-Car Fitted Navigation System in Russia

11) Introducing the Fully Redesigned Waze 3.0: Steering Drivers from Local Search to Local Discovery

Upcoming Events

7^th International Workshop on Vehicle Communications for Safety and Sustainability – October 21 – Orlando, Florida

https://sites.google.com/site/trbitscommittee/news-and-events/7thinternationalworkshoponvehiclecommunicationsforsafetyandsustainability

Today in Transportation History

1971 **40^th anniversary** The British Army began blowing up minor roads connecting Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in an effort to reduce weapons being brought into Northern Ireland.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/13/newsid_2532000/2532449.stm

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

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday.

To subscribe (for free) or unsubscribe, please contact me at bernie@bwcommunications.net.

TCN archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications

Become a TCN fan on Facebook!

Questions, comments about the TCN? Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast at bernie@bwcommunications.net.