Friday, January 22, 2010

Transportation Communications Newsletter

Friday, January 22, 2010 – ISSN 1529-1057

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Bernie’s Notes

In yesterday’s edition I mentioned there are several ways you can support the TCN. In addition to direct donations, another way is through a sponsorship. Each weekday the TCN goes out to over 7,000 readers. Since I never want the TCN to be cluttered with ads, there’s only one sponsorship per issue. That also makes sure your message stands out. The cost is surprisingly affordable at only $100 per ad. For more information, or to check available dates, please e-mail me at the address below. You can join sponsors such as IBTTA, ITS America, GEWI and INRIX in helping to support the TCN. For those interested in direct donations, please see information at the bottom of today’s edition. Thank you for all your support!

AVIATION

1) Gogo Gets $176 Million for In-Flight Wi-Fi

Link to article in The New York Times:

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/gogo-lands-176-million-as-in-flight-wi-fi-takes-off/

CAMERAS

2) London, Ontario Female Bus Drivers Demand Onboard Security Cameras

Link to article in the London Free Press:

http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2010/01/18/12517286.html

3) London to Get UK’s First Urban Average Speed Camera System

Link to article in Traffic Technology International:

http://www.traffictechnologytoday.com/news.php?NewsID=18960

ELECTRONIC TOLLING

4) Rival Australian Electronic Toll Tag Operators Accused of Dirty Tactics to Lure Drivers

Link to article in The Courier-Mail:

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26622874-3102,00.html

RAILROADS

5) NTSB Blames Engineer for 2008 Metrolink Crash, Urges Railroads to Install Cameras to Monitor Train Crews

Link to article in the Los Angeles Times:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-metrolink22-2010jan22,0,5862623.story

Link to further information from the National Transportation Safety Board:

http://www.ntsb.gov/events/boardmeeting.htm#upcoming

6) China Launches ID-Based Rail Ticket System

Link to IANS article:

http://www.samachaar.in/Business_and_Economy/China_launches_IDbased_rail_ticket_system_98953/

7) Amtrak Replies on Policy Concerning Identification of People Hit by Trains

Link to blog in The Baltimore Sun:

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/traffic/2010/01/amtrak_replies_on_victim_ident.html

8) January Issue of Signal Newsletter of the European Rail Traffic Management System

Link to newsletter:

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/rail/interoperability/ertms/doc/016_signal_2010_01_en.pdf

SPACE

9) Astronaut Sends One Small Tweet for Man, One Giant Leap for Twitter

Link to article in USA Today:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/01/astronaut-sends-one-small-tweet-for-man-one-giant-leap-for-twitter/1

Link to Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/astro_tj

TRANSIT

10) Tweet Dreams! Photo of Toronto Transit Commission Ticket Booth Goes Viral

Link to article in the Toronto Star:

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/ttc/article/754297--tweet-dreams-photo-of-ttc-booth-goes-viral

11) Low-Tech Used to Inform Passengers of Train Departures in Silicon Valley

Link to article in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/us/22sfmetro.html

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

12) Virginia DOT Traffic Operations Center Helps Staunton-Area Residents During Winter Weather

Link to story and video on WHSV-TV:

http://www.whsv.com/news/headlines/82392812.html

VEHICLES

13) Volvo Goes Futuristic with a System That Can Detect Pedestrians

Link to article from the New York Times News Service:

http://blog.marketplace.nwsource.com/nwautos/2010/01/auto_stop_volvo_goes_futuristic_with_a_system_that_can_detect_pedestrians.html?cmpid=2696

14) GM Spreads Car Radio DVR

Link to blog in Consumer Reports:

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/01/gm-pause-play-car-radio-dvr.html

News Releases

1) US DOT Seeks Public Comments on Research and Technology Planning

2) US Drivers Not the Speed Demons You May Think

Upcoming Events

Talking Operations Webcast: International Experience with Road Pricing: Lessons From an International Scan – February 3

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/news/news_detail.asp?ID=605

Friday Bonus

I hope she isn’t sued for copyright infringement.

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/cta-tattler/2010/01/devotion-to-cta-is-tattooed-on-her-foot.html

Today in Transportation History

1970 **40^th anniversary** - The first commercial flight of the Boeing 747 was made by Pan Am between New York and London.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,878184,00.html

Contributions for the TCN

Contributions to the TCN are greatly appreciated. You can mail a contribution to me at:

Bernie Wagenblast

1 Aberdeen Ct.

Cranford, NJ 07016-2911

You may also contribute through PayPal. Just go to:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=10069680

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© 2010 Bernie Wagenblast www.bwcommunications.net