In a bizzare case of  a DA-gone-wild, a poor cyclist is being penalized for trying to warn a behemoth SUV driver.   Read the story below reported by our friends at Streetsblog:

The Manhattan DA’s office is filing charges of criminal mischief against a cyclist, Ray Bengen, because he allegedly caused property damage to a multi-ton SUV in the process of getting doored by the driver. Too ridiculous to be true? Sadly, no. Here’s how it happened.

Image Courtesy - Streetsblog: Ray Bengen, pictured here lying on the sidewalk beneath the driver who knocked him off his bike, will face charges of criminal mischief in Manhattan criminal court next month

Bengen, 63, was riding down the Ninth Avenue bike lane on May 21 when he came across the Ford Excursion you see in this photo (curb weight: 7,190 lbs). A long-time city cyclist, Bengen had a green light and wasn’t quite sure what to make of the vehicle in front of him. The car wasn’t moving and its brake lights were off.

The bike lane on this stretch of Ninth Avenue is part of the city’s first on-street protected bike path. At the 20th Street intersection, where Bengen came across the car, there’s a left-turn bay for vehicles and an exclusive green phase for cyclists. The Excursion, as you can see, was in the bike lane, not the left-turn bay.

Bengen rode slowly by on the left. Then he sensed the car start to move as he was passing. Alarmed, he slapped the side of the car with his palm in an effort to alert the driver as to his presence. A witness, who Bengen says has agreed to testify in court, snapped three pictures of what happened next. We’ll let Bengen describe it:

The driver then went berserk. Talk about road rage. He threw open his door forcing me and my bike to the ground giving me some awful bruising down my leg. As I was now on the ground yelling at him that he’s in a bike lane and was just about to run me over, he started to scream at me “Don’t even think about it, don’t even think about it.” I’m still not sure what he meant by that. With me lying on the ground quite shaken, he suddenly stopped his assault and did something very unexpected. He moved away from me, picked up my bike where it was nearly underneath his truck. He then stood it up on its kickstand, and got back in the truck and drove away left into 20th street.

Last week, Bengen received a phone call from Detective Christopher Cipolli at the 10th Precinct. Officers from the precinct had arrived at the scene promptly following the altercation, Bengen says, and Cipolli had been very helpful during the investigation that followed. So it was with an apologetic tone that the detective informed Bengen that he had to come down to the precinct on Friday. The reason? Because the Manhattan DA had filed charges of criminal mischief against him. (The DA’s office is also pursuing assault charges against the SUV driver.)

“I had to go through the very humiliating process of being handcuffed and put into an interview room — locked and barred — for an hour or so,” Bengen recalled. After a fingerprint check, Bengen was released. He has a date in Manhattan criminal court set for July 14. The driver will appear on the 13th.

Click here to read the rest of this interesting article and for more pictures of the incident.

TransportGooru Musings:

(1).  The DA’s actions are squarely against New York City’s efforts to promote bicycling.

(2).  If the prosecutor had any common sense & logic, he would seen that anyone who is about to get hit by a behemoth SUV would take preventive actions to warn the driver.   What Ray Bengen did by banging on the door trying to get the SUV driver’s attention is akin to blowing the horn to get a drivers attention.

(3).  After reading the victim’s account of the incident, it will be obvious even to the dumbest idiot on the planet that the cyclist had all the rights to stay in his designated lane.

Let’s hope Ray Bengen comes out victorious in his fight against this murkey world of law and order.   Stay tuned for Streetsblog updates on this case as it evolves.

Advancing Traffic Signal Management Programs through Regional Collaboration

Description

This T3 webinar will explore Regional Traffic Signal Management Programs from an intuitional and organizational perspective. Over the last decade, Regional Traffic Signal Management Programs have developed in many metropolitan areas with the primary objective of improving traffic signal timing. How successful have these programs been at achieving and sustaining this objective? What types of organizational structures, funding, and technology facilitate the operation of the system? There are many approaches to starting, organizing, and sustaining regional programs; a cross section of these, will be explored from the perspective of State DOTs, Metropolitan Planning Organizations and Local Agencies. The activities, funding sources and champions that sustain regional programs are as diverse as the regions themselves; exploring and discussing these is an important step in improving and advancing traffic signal operations nationally.

The webinar will include brief presentations describing each regional traffic signal program followed by a Question & Answer discussion of questions submitted by webinar participants.

Audience

Politicians, managers and practitioners interested in improving traffic signal management, operations and maintenance practices to reduce the impacts of traffic signals on climate change, improve the quality of life of customers and advancing a world class transportation system that interoperates across multiple modes and facilities.

Learning Objectives

• Identify approaches to “sell” regional traffic signal programs as a viable strategy to improve traffic signal operations.
• Identify organizational structures and methods of overcoming institutional barriers to the formation of regional traffic signal management programs.
• List activities that promote regional collaboration among traffic signal operators.
• Identify how planning organizations and agencies that manage and operate traffic signals can work collaboratively to improve traffic signal operations.
• List the benefits of regional traffic signal operations.
• Identify emerging strategies for measuring performance and prioritizing regional objectives and projects.

Federal Host:

Eddie Curtis, FHWA Resource Center & Office of Operations

Eddie Curtis is a Traffic Management Specialist with the FHWA Resource Center and Headquarters Office of Operations. He manages the Arterial Management Program responsible for providing research, guidance and outreach to advance arterial operations and traffic signal management. Via the Resource center Mr. Curtis provides training and technical assistance on issues related to traffic signal management, operations and ACS-Lite. He has 14 years of experience in traffic signal operations and has held positions with the City of Los Angeles and PB Farradyne. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from California State University Los Angeles and is a licensed P.E. in the states of California.

Presenters:

State Department of Transportation Perspective on Regional Traffic Signal Management

• North Carolina Department of Transportation

Greg Fuller, North Carolina DOT — ITS & State Signals Engineer

• Metropolitan Planning Organization Perspective

Jim Poston, Regional Transportation Commission (RTC)

Metropolitan Planning Organization Perspective

• Ron Achelpohl — Mid-America Regional Council — Operation Green Light Kansas City

Ronald Achelpohl is the Assistant Director of Transportation for the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC). He is responsible for a variety of initiatives related to the funding, operation and management of transportation systems in the Kansas City area including:

• • Project Manager for Operation Green Light; an initiative to enhance the coordination of traffic signals to improve traffic flow and air quality throughout the region;
  • Program Manager for the regional Congestion Management System to ensure that regional decision-makers have solid information about the impacts of congestion as they make major transportation investment decisions;
  • Oversight of regional transportation safety programs;
  • Oversight of the Regional Intelligent Systems Architecture;
  • Oversight of the regional Transportation Improvement Program;
  • Oversight of the regional RIDESHARE program; and
  • Other initiatives involving Intelligent Transportation Systems, Travel Demand Management, freight transportation, transportation finance and transportation policy.

Ronald has held previous positions in MARC and the Missouri Department of Transportation and has earned a Master of Science, Engineering Management from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri.

Ronald is a Registered Professional Engineer in Missouri and a member of the American Public Works Association, the Institute of Traffic Engineers, and ITS America, Heartland Chapter.

Professional Organization Perspective

• Institute of Transportation Engineers, Douglas Noble, P.E., PTOE

Douglas Noble is the Senior Director — Management and Operations at the Institute of Transportation Engineers. He is responsible for the integration of transportation management and operations issues into ITE programs and publications. Doug has more than 20 years of experience in project development, financial management and administration in the transportation engineering field with an emphasis in project management, organizational development and change management, traffic engineering, transportation operations, neighborhood traffic management and planned special events.

Doug’s professional background spans both the public and private sectors: He has been the Chief Traffic Engineer for Washington, DC and prior to that a principal transportation engineer for the consulting engineering firm Parsons Transportation Group in its Washington office. He received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Purdue University, and an M.S.E. in transportation systems from the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to being registered as a Professional Engineer, Doug has received certification as a Professional Traffic Operations Engineer™ and is a Fellow of the Institute.

Where is the “IT” in ITS?

Description

IT and ITS have a common technical framework and similar technical challenges. As such, practitioners in both fields have much to gain by partnering together. The Oregon and New Hampshire State Departments of Transportation will present their experiences in bringing these different organizational groups together to promote efficient and successful ITS project deployment based on systems engineering principles. Each agency will share their successes, challenges, and lessons learned with the organizational and technical issues these new partnerships engender. Representatives from both agencies will discuss the ways that IT and ITS staff in program offices collaborate to support ITS deployments, making this an informative and interesting session and providing the audience with practical steps for initiating and maintaining collaborative, cross-departmental work partnerships.

This webinar is part of a webinar series on Systems Engineering for ITS projects. Many agencies use their Information Technology group as a source for systems engineering and information technology skills and as a way to build competency across different agency departments.

Audience

• Individuals involved in planning, deploying, and operating ITS
• ITS and IT staff and managers
• Human Resource and workforce development professionals

Learning Outcomes

• Understanding of the positive impact on ITS project outcomes derived from collaboration between the agency’s IT department and the ITS program office
• Steps that can be implemented to initiate cross-departmental (IT and ITS) collaboration
• Benefits of using systems engineering in the development and management of ITS projects
• Best practices for maintaining cross-departmental collaboration through the project lifecycle

Federal Host:

Mac Lister

Mac is the Manager of the ITS Professional Capacity Building Program at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s ITS Joint Program Office (ITS JPO). He has over 35 years of experience in the field of information systems. Before joining the ITS JPO, Mac was an ITS Specialist at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Resource Center. Before that, Mac worked as an IT manager for 25 years, the last 12 of which were for a public transit agency. His ITS areas of expertise are 511 technology/overall operations, the National ITS Architecture, ITS professional capacity building and workforce development, and systems engineering.

Mac has provided training, outreach and technical support for the National ITS Architecture and Systems Engineering programs. He has also the team leader for the FHWA‘s National Field Support team; the field co-chair for the FHWA Operations Council’s architecture and systems engineering working groups; and a member of the 511 Deployment Coalition Working Group.

Mac is a certified instructor and a master trainer for NHI. He has taught courses in ITS Software Acquisition, Systems Engineering and National ITS Architecture. He has also been an independent consultant to ITS America.

Do you know that over 90% of the world’s fatalities on the roads occur in low-income and middle-income countries, which have only 48% of the world’s registered vehicles?

Image Courtesy: World Health Organization

Approximately 1.3 million people die each year on the world’s roads, and between 20 and 50 million sustain non-fatal injuries. In most regions of the world this epidemic of road traffic injuries is still increasing. In the past five years most countries have endorsed the recommendations of the World report on road traffic injury prevention which give guidance on how countries can implement a comprehensive approach to improving road safety and reducing the death toll on their roads.

To date, however, there has been no global assessment of road safety that indicates the extent to which this approach is being implemented. This Global status report on road safety is  the first broad assessment of the status of road safety in 178 countries, using data drawn from a standardized survey conducted in 2008.

The results show that road traffic injuries remain an important public health problem, particularly for low-income and middle-income countries. Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists make up almost half of those killed on the roads, highlighting the need for these road users to be given more attention in road safety programmes.

Image Courtesy: Apture

The results also suggest that in many countries road safety laws need to be made more comprehensive while enforcement should be strengthened. TheGlobal status report on road safety results clearly show that significantly more action is needed to make the world’s roads safer.

The results provide a benchmark that countries can use to assess their road safety position relative to other countries, while internationally the data presented can collectively be considered as a global “baseline” against which progress over time can be measured.  Here is a quick summary of key findings from WHO’s Director-General, Dr. Margaret Chan’s  statement during the June 15, 2009 release of the report in New York City:

• Over 90% of these deaths occur in low-income and middle-income countries, which have less than half of the world’s registered vehicles.
• Second, the report highlights that nearly half of those dying on the world’s roads are pedestrians, cyclists or motorcyclists. These people, who lack the protective shell of a car, are particularly vulnerable to severe and fatal injuries following a crash.  In some low-income and middle-income countries, this proportion is even higher, with up to 80% of road traffic deaths among these vulnerable groups. Clearly we are not giving enough attention to the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, many of whom end up in clinics and emergency rooms, overloading already stretched health-care systems.
• Third, the report shows that, in many countries, the laws needed to protect people are either not in place or too limited in their scope. Indeed, only 15% of countries have comprehensive laws on all the risk factors we measured. And even when legislation is adequate, most countries report that enforcement is low.  The development and effective enforcement of legislation are key ways to reduce drink-driving and excessive speed, and to increase the use of helmets, seat-belts and child restraints.
• Finally, the report demonstrates that in many countries information about road traffic injuries is scarce. To set priorities and target and evaluate their actions, countries need to know the size of the problem, and additional information such as which groups are most affected.

Click here to access the PDF report.

(Source: New York Times, Washington Post & CNN.com)

Image Courtesy: The Associated Press - Picture from Accident Scene

At least nine people were killed (as of local reporting time 11:35PM) and roughly 20 injured when one Metro subway train slammed into another on the outskirts of the city during the afternoon rush hour on Monday, emergency officials said.  At the scene, one subway car sat fully on top of a car from the other train. The car on top had part of its floor sheared off, and the wreckage was a jumble of twisted metal. Seats from the smashed cars had spilled onto the tracks.

The crash occurred around 5 p.m. on a heavily traveled Metro route, known as the Red Line, that shuttles thousands of commuters every day from the suburbs into the city. It occurred between the Takoma Park and Fort Totten stations, where there is a long stretch of track, meaning trains often reach high speeds.

Several passengers were carried off on stretchers, and rescue crews used ladders and heavy equipment to cut into the wreckage and get to passengers stuck inside. Helicopters buzzed overhead. The police scrambled to coordinate traffic, onlookers and the rescue workers.

Emergency medical personnel set up a triage site at the nearby Jarboe Printing Company. Mr. Catoe said there were about 75 passengers on the two trains. Six people were seriously injured, 14 had non-life-threatening injuries and about 50 appeared to be unharmed.  Passengers said about 15 minutes passed before officials showed up or any announcements were made.

Details and Possible Causation Analysis

Investigators will probably focus on a failure of Metro’s computerized signal system, which is designed to prevent trains from coming close enough to collide, as well as operator error, according to former Metro officials.

The system relies on electronic relays — about the size of a hardcover book — aboard trains and buried beside the tracks along each line. When a train gets too close to another train, the system is designed to automatically stop the approaching train. It should work regardless of whether trains are being operated manually or by computer.

Metro has had trouble with its signal system in recent years, and replaced all 20,000 trackside relays in 2000 after discovering that a small portion were failing.

But even if the signal system failed to stop the train, the operator should have intervened and applied emergency brakes, safety experts familiar with Metro’s operations say. The position of the second train after the crash — the fact that its first car came to rest atop the other train — indicates that the second train was traveling at high speed. In the section of track where the accident occurred, the maximum speed is supposed to be 58 mph. Metro officials would not say how fast the trains were going because of the ongoing NTSB investigation.

Stories of crash victims

A survivor, Jodie Wickett, described feeling a bump on the track, and then being flung forward when the train suddenly halted a few seconds later. She said she hit her head, but managed to get out and go to where the collision occurred a few cars up, where one subway car lay atop another.

“It was a huge impact,” said Maya Maroto, 31, of Burtonsville, Md., who was in the third car of the moving train as she headed into the city to see a movie. “Our first inclination was that we hit another train or car.”  An elderly woman sitting near them flew out of her seat and landed sprawled on the floor.  Ms. Maroto said she did not realize the seriousness of the accident until she looked out the door and saw the front of her train wedged on top of the other one. Minutes later she looked again and saw a body on the tracks.

Jasmine Gars, who also was on the moving train, told CNN’s “Larry King Live” that the collision “was like nothing I’ve ever felt before.” “It was like we hit a concrete wall,” Gars said. “Almost immediately I fell off my seat. Another person — I don’t know who — flew off their seat. And the lights went off and smoke started filling the train car.”

Tom Baker, 47, a District resident, was in the first car of the second train, which rear-ended the first one and landed on top of it. There were eight to 10 passengers in his car. As they pulled out of Takoma on the way to Fort Totten, the female operator said the train was holding because there was a train in front of them. Shortly thereafter, the train started moving again, but within a minute, there was an “enormous crashing jolt,” he said.

“You could hear all this crashing and glass breaking,” Baker said. “I didn’t hear any brakes at all.” He said he couldn’t gauge how fast the train was moving but said it was traveling at moderate speed. He saw the train lift into the air, he said. “When the dust settled, the entire front of the train was gone,” and riders could see down to the train below them.

Great Safety Record Now Tarnished

Image Courtesy: Washington Post - Staff reports, National Transportation Safety Board, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. (Please note the death toll has now been revised to 9; it was 6 at the time this graphic was published)

The accident was the second involving passenger fatalities in the history of the system. In 1982, three people died after a train derailed between the Federal Triangle and Smithsonian stations. In 2004, two Metro trains collided at the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan station, resulting in minor injuries.

This is the third serious Metrorail crash since 1996. The last fatal train crash was in 1996, when a Red Line train overshot the Shady Grove platform on an icy night and plowed into another train. The operator died. In November 2004, a Red Line train rolled backwards down a steep stretch of track and smashed into another train at the Woodley Park station. Twenty people were injured but there were no fatalities.

The deadliest accident in the system’s history occurred in 1982, when a six-car Orange Line train bound for New Carrollton derailed near the Smithsonian Station when an improperly aligned switch caused it to enter the wrong track. Three passengers were killed.

Tom Baker, 47, a District resident, was in the first car of the second train, which rear-ended the first one and landed on top of it. There were eight to 10 passengers in his car. As they pulled out of Takoma on the way to Fort Totten, the female operator said the train was holding because there was a train in front of them. Shortly thereafter, the train started moving again, but within a minute, there was an “enormous crashing jolt,” he said.

“You could hear all this crashing and glass breaking,” Baker said. “I didn’t hear any brakes at all.” He said he couldn’t gauge how fast the train was moving but said it was traveling at moderate speed. He saw the train lift into the air, he said. “When the dust settled, the entire front of the train was gone,” and riders could see down to the train below them.

Officials React

“It looks to be the worst Metro accident in D.C. history,” said MayorAdrian M. Fenty. “We’re going to investigate this and find out what happened.”

The general manager of the Metro system, John B. Catoe Jr., said one train had stopped near a platform and was waiting for permission to proceed when it was hit from behind by the second train.

Mr. Catoe did not speculate on whether safety devices intended to prevent such crashes had failed, saying the authorities were still focused on rescuing passengers.

President Obama issued a statement saying he and his wife Michelle were “saddened by the terrible accident,” and thanking the first responders to the scene “who arrived immediately to save lives.”

Click here to view videos related to the story.  Click here to read the latest updates from the scene.

Breaking News Update: One of the local news channels (Channel 9) reported a few minutes ago that the death toll has now jumped to 9 and a few people continue to be listed as “critical.”

Monday, June 22, 2009 – ISSN 1529-1057

(Source: Wall Street Journal, Detroit Free Press,  Reuters, Autoblog, JDPower.com)

* Ford, Chevrolet close in on Toyota brand

* Lexus, Porsche rank No. 1 and No. 2 for new car quality

* BMW’s Mini ranks last in J.D. Power survey

New vehicles sold by Chrysler, Ford and GM’s domestic brands have improved in initial quality by an average of 10% compared with 2008, but Toyota Motor Corp. was the star of this year’s study on initial quality from J.D. Power and Associates.

The study was released today at an Automotive Press Association luncheon at the Detroit Athletic Club.

Image Courtesy: J.D Power and Associates via Autoblog

Toyota’s Lexus brand ranked first among all nameplates with 84 problems per 100 vehicles. Toyota also captured 10 segment awards — more than any other corporation in the 2009 study.

Luxury brands captured the top three spots, while Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota were in what amounted to a statistical dead heat further down in the rankings, the survey by J.D. Power and Associates found.

“Have the leading domestic nameplates caught up with Toyota? The answer is almost,” Dave Sargent, vice president for auto research at J.D. Power, told reporters at a briefing in Detroit. The quality gap between the foreign imports and the Detroit auto makers is now the smallest it has ever been, David Sargent, JD Power’s vice president of automotive research, said during a speech at the Automotive Press Association in Detroit. The domestics lagged behind the foreign auto makers by just six points.

The 2009 Initial Quality Study (IQS) provides information gathered from over 80,000 purchasers and lessees of 2009 model-year vehicles. Performance is measured using a “problems per 100 vehicles (PP100)” metric. A lower PP100 score indicates better performance and a higher PP100 score indicates worse performance. The 2009 study covers a total of 228 total problems, and organizes them into the following eight categories:

• Exterior
• The Driving Experience
• Features/Controls/Displays
• Audio/Entertainment/Navigation
• Seats
• HVAC, or Climate Controls
• Interior
• Engine/Transmission

The highlights of the 2009 IQS study (courtesy of J.D. Power & Associates):

• Overall, the industry average for initial quality is 108 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) in 2009, down from 118 PP100 in 2008. Initial quality for domestic brands has improved to an average of 112 PP100 in 2009 from 124 PP100 in 2008, while import brands have improved to an average of 106 PP100 in 2009 from 114 PP100 in 2008.
• Lexus leads the overall nameplate rankings, averaging 84 PP100. This is the 12th time Lexus has been the highest-ranked brand in the 20 years it has been included in the IQS and the first time since 2005.
• Following in the rankings are Porsche, Cadillac (which moves from 10th rank position in 2008 to third in 2009),Hyundai (improves from 13th rank position in 2008 to fourth in 2009) and Honda, rounding out the top five.
• Toyota Motor Corporation captures 10 segment awards—more than any other automaker in the 2009 study—including five for Lexus, four for Toyota and one forScion. Lexus receives awards for the IS, GS, GX, LSand LX models. The Lexus LX has the fewest quality problems in the industry, with just 52 PP100. Toyota models receiving awards in their respective segments are the 4Runner (in a tie); Sienna; Tundra (in a tie); andYaris.
• Ford receives three awards for the Edge (in a tie); F-150 (in a tie); and Mustang. Garnering two awards each are Nissan (Altima and Z); and Honda (CR-V, in a tie, and Ridgeline).
• Also receiving segment awards are: Chevrolet TrailBlazer (in a tie), Chrysler PT Cruiser (in a tie), GMC Yukon, Hyundai Elantra Sedan, Mercury Sable and Scion tC.
• Suzuki is the most-improved nameplate in the industry this year. A reduction of 49 PP100 moves the Japanese brand from 32nd place in 2008 to ninth place this year. Suzuki is also the most improved nameplate for both Defects/Malfunctions and Design-related problems. Also, Saturn improves by 37 PP100 and Jeep by 30 PP100.
• The Toyota Motor Corporation assembly plant in Higashi-Fuji, Japan, receives the Platinum Plant Quality Award for producing vehicles yielding the fewest defects and malfunctions. Averaging just 29 PP100, the plant produces the Lexus SC 430 and Toyota Corolla. (Plant awards are based solely on average levels of defects and malfunctions and exclude design-related problems.)
• Among North and South American plants, the Honda plant in East Liberty, Ohio, which produces the Civic Sedan, CR-V and Element, achieves the Gold Plant Quality Award.
• In the Europe and Africa region, Daimler’s East London, South Africa, plant, which produces the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, receives the Gold Plant Quality Award.

The results underscored the competitive pressure on the industry at a time when U.S. sales have been driven to 30-year lows and both GM and Chrysler have been forced to rely on federal financing to restructure through bankruptcy.

U.S. automakers have spent heavily in recent years in a bid to close the gap with the Japanese automakers led by Toyota and Honda, which have established a reputation for eliminating flaws from engineering and manufacturing.

This year, GM’s Cadillac brand is the highest ranked domestic nameplate with 91 problems per 100 vehicles. Cadillac is ranked third and moved up from 10th last year.

Ford Motor Co. received the second most segment awards of any automaker with top rankings for its redesigned F-150 pickup, Ford Mustang mid-size sports car, Ford Edge crossover and Mercury Sable full-size sedan.

Brands that do well — typically luxury cars top the list — can use the results to bolster advertising campaigns. The vehicles were evaluated between November through February. “High quality enhances an auto maker’s reputation for reliability which is a critical purchase consideration for many consumers,” Mr. Sargent said.

Boosted by a strong reception for its high-end Genesis sedan, Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) pushed ahead of both Toyota and Honda Motor Co (7267.T) to become the top-ranked mass-market auto brand and No. 4 overall.

Honda ranked No. 5, followed by Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Ford and GM’s Chevrolet.

Click here to read the entire 2009 Initial Quality Study Results.

(Source: The Hindu, Times of India)

Bengaluru International Airport records 8.7 million passengers as against 13 million projected for first year

Image Courtesy: Apture

The High Speed Rail Link (HSRL) to Bengaluru International Airport, which was on the drawing board for nearly two years, is set to see some action. The Centre has given the go-ahead to the project, along with committing some funds, and has asked the implementing authorities to hasten it.  The new airport is 35 km away from the centre of this city and was conceived to handle the commercial airline traffic that is now handled by the 50-year-old HAL airport, which was bursting at its seams, handling 320 flights a day and 35,000-40,000 passengers daily or about 10 million passengers annually.

After several bureaucratic hitches, the Rs 5,767-crore project has gathered steam. The 34-km high-speed rail link will start from MG Road, run along the right side of National Highway up to BIA. The elevated train will go underground at BIA, below the airport lounge, which is 100 metres from check-in counters. It will take the underground route soon after the trumpet changeover for about 12 metres.   The rail project requires 162-acre land on the highway. With the market bust, the compensation amount has been estimated at Rs 532 crore. The HSRL will start from BRV Grounds and have two stops — at Hebbal and Yelahanka.

The HSRL project went for a review in May, and the Centre gave its nod and agreed to take care of the Viability Gap Funding. The VGF pattern has been worked out on three parameters, in which the land acquisition cost is not taken into account.  The project, which has already attracted 27 bidders for the Request For Qualification — will open the bids in August last week. The next step is technical bids.

While commencing commercial operations on May 24, 2008, promoters of Bengaluru International Airport Ltd. (BIAL) had forecast that it would handle 13 million passengers in the first year. Only 8.7 million passengers used the airport till May 23, 2009. The slump has been attributed to the economic slowdown.

A study conducted by BIAL has indicated that air passenger traffic will approximately touch nine million this year. The figure is likely to touch 14 million only by 2013-14. With the existing infrastructure, the airport can easily handle the passenger traffic for the next couple of years. BIA’s next expansion, expected to begin in early 2010, will include extending the apron from 42 aircraft parking stands to 62. Additionally, the existing terminal building will be expanded to accommodate the expected increase in passenger traffic.  Seven new international airlines have commenced operations.

It is stated that BIAL would continue to realise its master plan and expand to accommodate increased traffic in terms of aircraft movement and passengers.

The new airport started its second year Sunday without any fanfare. Yet to be officially inaugurated or christened, the airport has got mixed reviews from passengers during the first year of its operations.

“The new airport is very far from the city. It takes a lot of time to commute because of heavy traffic. We lose precious time and that is not good for us,” Ved Pathak, a software professional, said.  He was reflecting views expressed earlier by Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and Infosys Director Mohandas Pai who had campaigned for retention of the old government-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd airport located within the city.

“The toilets at the new airport are cramped and not well maintained. We expect better facilities in an international airport,” remarked K. Vishwanathan, a marketing executive.  But Sushmita, a student of business management, said: “It is definitely better compared to the old airport. The place is swanky with lots of eatouts. I quite like it.”

The airport made a wobbly takeoff May 24 last year, amid protests, legal battles and criticism over poor road connectivity. Today, it is a beehive of activity, with 280 aircraft landing or taking off per day and thousands of passengers arriving or departing.  Though the $625-million (Rs.29,687-crore) greenfield airport took a decade to materialise, the first phase was completed in a record 36 months after construction began in mid-2005.

“After trials and tribulations of the first few months, we hope to see a change in our fortunes in the second year as we have accomplished a lot against heavy odds,” said a beaming Marcel Hungerbuehler, chief executive of Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), the consortium operating the airport.

However, the airport is yet to be officially inaugurated. While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was to unveil the airport in March last year, the Karnataka assembly elections two months later May posed an obstacle, as the model code of conduct came into force.

About 30 airlines, including 20 international carriers, operate passenger and cargo services.  Spread across 4,000 acres, the domestic terminal boasts of 53 check-in and 18 self check-in counters, three rapid exits and a taxiway system, 42 aircraft stands, eight passenger boarding bridges and two warehouses.

Built on the public-private partnership model, the airport’s consortium consists of Unique Zurich Airport, Siemens Projects Ventures and Larsen and Toubro (L&T) with a combined equity stake of 74%.

State government agencies and the country’s apex national airports operator, Airports Authority of India (AAI), hold the remaining 26%.

(Source: Grist.org via T4America)

Image Courtesy: Photo illustration by Tom Twigg/Grist

You’ve heard all the reasons before: We drive too much. We eat too much meat and processed food. We spend too much time with plugged-in devices—computers, TVs, air conditioners.

But what problem are we talking about—climate change, or the worldwide rise in obesity?

Both, according to Globesity: A Planet Out of Control?, a book by four public-health researchers who show how climate change and obesity draw from a shared web of roots. Both problems worsen as car culture spreads, desk jobs replace manual jobs, and carbon-intensive foods (including meat) become available to more and more eaters, according to the book, published first in French and this spring in English.

The two issues spread across the planet in similar ways. Those paying attention to climate change know the planet can’t afford for the developing world to emit carbon dioxide at the same levels as the industrialized world. Public-health workers, too, foresee enormous trouble if developing countries adopt the worst dietary and lifestyle habits of rich countries. That shift is well underway, according to Michelle Holdsworth, Globesity’s lead author and a nutritionist with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Montpellier, France.

Rates of obesity—defined by the WHO as a body mass index of 30 or higher—are now higher in Germany, Finland, and the Czech Republic than in the U.S., according to data from the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF). The same is true in some Mediterranean countries famed for their healthy diets: Greece, Egypt, and Cyprus. Traditional olive oil-centric diets have become too high in fat for populations that are less active than they used to be, said Holdsworth. And traditional diets are losing ground.