(Source: Autoblog; Photo: emrank@Flickr)

Monday, March 23, 2009 — ISSN 1529-1057

AVIATION

1) The Benefits of Integration

Strong IT infrastructure enhances services, reduces costs at Raleigh-Durham Airport’s new terminal.

http://www.airportbusiness.com/print/Airport-Business-Magazine/The-Benefits-of-Integration/1$26381

CAMERAS

2) Mississippi Bans Red-Light Cameras

Link to story in The Commercial Dispatch:

http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=759

3) Traffic Camera Backlash Growing in Ohio Cities

Link to AP story:

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20090322/UPDATES01/90322017

CARTOGRAPHY

4) Google Maps StreetView ‘May be a Security Threat’ in Northern Ireland

Link to story in the Belfast Telegraph:

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/technology-gadgets/google-maps-street-view-lsquomay-be-a-security-threatrsquo-14237716.html

ELECTRONIC TOLLING

5) Slovakia‘s Road-Toll System Will be Up and Running by January 1, 2010, says SkyToll

Link to story in Traffic Technology International:

http://www.traffictechnologytoday.com/news.php?NewsID=11330

GPS / NAVIGATION

6) Sat-Nav Going Live in Ireland to Beat Gridlock

Link to story in The Independent:

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/sat-nav-going-live-to-beat-gridlock-1681992.html 

7) Top New York Court to Weigh Warrantless GPS Use

Link to AP story:

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny–gpstracking-warra0323mar23,0,266900.story

MARITIME

8) Do Maritime Security Smart Cards Defy Common Sense?

Link to story in the Los Angeles Times:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-terrorism-id22-2009mar22%2C0%2C3594305.story

OTHER

9) Federal Inspectors Often Difficult to Reach, Group Says

Inspector general hotline for US DOT handled by third-party call center.

Link to story in The Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/22/AR2009032201665.html

10) Spend Now to Help Society Run ‘Smarter’

Link to commentary in JoongAng Daily:

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2902560

11) New Database Tells Big Brother You’re Uninsured

Link to story in Wired:

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/03/the-uninsured-m.html

SAFETY / SECURITY

12) In-Flight Entertainment Systems Raise Safety Issues

Link to story in USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2009-03-22-electronics-fires-airlines_N.htm

TRANSIT

13) Why Metra is Riding Slow Train to Future

Link to story in the Chicago Tribune:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-unfriendly-rails-mar23,0,398128.story

14) Union Sues to Get Ad on Fresno, California Bus

Link to story in The Fresno Bee:

http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1277352.html

15) Virtualization and Transit

IT that improves operations and strengthens customer service.

Link to story in Mass Transit:

http://www.masstransitmag.com/publication/article.jsp?pubId=1&id=8133&pageNum=1

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

16) Stimulus Bill Funds Intelligent Transportation System Projects

Link to story in Government Technology:

http://www.govtech.com/gt/articles/628254

17) Indianapolis Plans for Heavy Super Bowl Traffic

Planning for event begins years before game.

Link to story in The Indianapolis Star:

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009903230347

18) Getting Traffic Information to Commuters is an Art and a Science

Link to column in the Chicago Tribune:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/autocorner/chi-getting-around-23-mar23,0,717752.column

19) I-80 Web Site is Launched in California

Link to story in The Union:

http://www.theunion.com/article/20090323/WEBUPDATE/903239989/1002/NONE&parentprofile=1053&title=I-80%20website%20launched

Link to Get Across I-80:  http://www.getacross80.com/

VEHICLES

20) New In-Vehicle Platform for Driving Next Generation Car PCs

Link to story on iTWire:

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/23974/598/

21) Smart Truck Deliveries in Berlin

Delivery trucks are equipped with dynamic route planning software.

Link to story on Hellmail:

http://www.hellmail.co.uk/postalnews/templates/postal_global_news.asp?articleid=1385&zoneid=11

News Releases

1) NOAA – Emergency Managers to Test Atlantic/Gulf Tsunami Warning and Response

2) Monash University Study: Roadside Ads Distract Drivers

3) Tees Valley Public Transport Info Service Goes Live

Upcoming Events

Cooperative Systems on the Road – May 12-14 – Helmond, Netherlands

http://www.testsitehelmond.org/

Today in Transportation History

1889  **120th anniversary** – The Woolwich Free Ferry began service.  It crosses the River Thames in London.

http://www.greenwich.gov.uk/Greenwich/Travel/LocalTravelServices/WoolwichFerry.htm

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

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday. 

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

© 2009 Bernie Wagenblast

(Source: Jalopnik)

Pre-orders are officially being taken today for the Tata Nano in India at an MSRP of 100,000 rupees (just under $2,000). That makes the Nano officially the cheapest automobile in the world.

The on-road price will be a little bit higher, probably around $2,400, once you factor in excise duty, education fees and road tax, along with transportation cost, local taxes, insurance and registration fees and “a lifetime parking fee” (applicable in some locations).

(Source:  Baltimore Sun/Investigative Voice via Jalopnik)

First Daughter and current South Baltimore teacher Jenna Bush‘s Secret Service detail vehicle was towed away this week because of unpaid parking tickets… and karma.

 According to Investigative Voice, the Baltimore Parking Authority towed one of the vehicles in Jenna Bush‘s Secret Service detail because of several unpaid parking tickets. Click here to read the rest.

TransportGooru’s musings:  I wonder if the tax payers have to bailout another Bush mess?

(Source: NPR;  Photo Courtesy: Hans Splinter@ Flickr)

NPR.org, March 19, 2009 –  When I went to Europe, I loved to ride the trains, especially the French TGV and other high-speed trains. So President Obama’s goal of building high-speed rail in the United States sounded good at first.

Randal O'Toole is a Cato Institute Senior Fellow working on urban growth, public land and transportation issues. Courtesy of the Cato Institute

But when I looked at the details, I discovered that — while high-speed rail may be good for tourists — it isn’t working very well in Europe or Japan.

Japan and France have each spent as much per capita on high-speed rail as we spent on our Interstate Highway System. The average American travels 4,000 miles and ships 2,000 ton-miles per year on the interstates. Yet the average resident of Japan travels only 400 miles per year on bullet trains, while the average resident of France goes less than 300 miles per year on the TGV — and these rail lines carry virtually no freight.

Click here to read the entire “Opinion” of Mr. O’ Toole.  

Throughout the world and throughout history, passenger trains have been used mainly by a wealthy elite and have never given the average people of any nation as much mobility as our interstate highways.

(Source: Autoblog) 

Last week, we told you how despite the downturn, Daimler is upping its investment in the state of Michigan, coming to terms with the city of Ann Arbor to build a new hybrid and electric R&D facility. Now, Automotive News is reporting that the automaker is expected to actually expand its Vance, Alabama production plant.

If the rumors are true, the Mercedes-Benz plant (which currently builds GL, M, and R class vehicles) will benefit from a $290 million investment that is to begin within 60 days. The news evidently leaked out after company officials contacted the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority about property and sales tax breaks (which it apparently received).

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: Washington Post)

Targeting Cul-de-Sacs, Rules Now Require Through Streets in New Subdivisions

Virginia is taking aim at one of the most enduring symbols of suburbia: the cul-de-sac.

 The state has decided that all new subdivisions must have through streets linking them with neighboring subdivisions, schools and shopping areas. State officials say the new regulations will improve safety and accessibility and save money: No more single entrances and exits onto clogged secondary roads. Quicker responses by emergency vehicles. Lower road maintenance costs for governments.

(Source: BBC)

He has worked as a chauffeur for top businessmen in Pune and Mumbai – ferrying them around the country, to important meetings in big, fancy and expensive cars.

He has sat behind the wheels of dozens of cars, from an old British Morris to the Land Rover he’s driving now.  It’s been an honest, hardworking life – albeit austere.

The salary of a driver in India can only afford you so much. Mr Pandurang has worked hard to support his family – putting his children in English language schools, so that they would get opportunities he never had.

He’s never been the kind of man to want anything for himself, working night and day to feed his family instead. But throughout his life, he has had one dream: to own a car of his own.

Last January, Mr Pandurang and his family watched in awe and excitement as the unveiling of the world’s cheapest car was broadcast on television screens across India.

They were sitting in the living room of their modest flat when they first saw Ratan Tata, the boss of the Tata Group, announce on national television that the Nano would be sold for 100,000 Indian rupees – around £2,000 at the current exchange rate.

“I was shocked” says Rakhee, Mr Pandurang’s 24 year old daughter. “It was like God had answered our prayers – we could finally help to make dad’s dream come true.”

(Source:  FHWA Press Release)

Into Second Year, National Trend Tops 122 Billion Miles

New estimates released today show the decline in American driving continued in January 2009 with 7 billion fewer vehicle-miles traveled (VMT), or 3.1 percent less, compared to the same month a year earlier. This is the first “back-to-back” decline for January since 1981-1982.

The decline now exceeds 122 billion VMT, compared to the same 14-month period – December 2006 to January 2008 – a year earlier. A recent end-of-the-year data calibration adjusted the November 2007 data, revealing that the trend did not begin in November 2007, as originally reported, but rather in December 2007.

As it has since the trend began, the decline in rural driving in January 2009 outpaced urban driving.

Click here to read the entire press release.  Shown below is the USDOT’s report on Traffic Volume Trends Report for January 2009.