(Source: Tree Hugger)

During last week, many of us watched Nissan unveil its electric car, Leaf.  Those who where in Yokohoma, Japan for the unveiling had a chance to test drive the vehicle and get a demonstration of the technology behind the vehicle.  Our friends from Tree Hugger were kind enough to bring us a little more than what the rest of mdeia has offered thus far.   In an exclusive article, Tree hugger explains Nissan’s technology demonstration that utilizes the internet technology to interface with its electric vehicles. Check out the exclusive video (via You Tube) and a collection of pictures here.

As you can see in this quick demo, the car sends info to an Apple iPhone via a dedicated global data center. The software tells the user about the car’s state of charge, the cost to charge at a given hour of the day, and sends alerts when it’s fully juiced up.

Nissan also expects this is how drivers may program what times of day they want to charge up. Since tiered electricity billing is becoming more common (especially with the spread of smart meters), customers will want to charge their cars when it’s cheapest.

This smartphone interface also lets the user activate or pre-program the car’s climate control. This is important because heating and air conditioning draw a considerable amount of power, so it’s better to draw from the grid when plugged in, rather than once the car is on the road and running on its battery.

Although this interface isn’t likely to appear on the first-generation Leaf when it comes out in late 2010, Nissan has assured us that this is not just eye candy, and that smartphone connectivity is a feature that will make it to market.

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: Green Car Congress)

This post is sponsored by LemonFree.com

Buoyed by the US government’s CARS (“Cash for Clunkers”) program, US auto sales slowed their decline in the US in July, dropping on 12.1% to 997,824 units, accordingto summary figures from AutoData. Passenger car sales dropped 10.6% to 554, 527 units, while light truck sales dropped 14.1% to 443, 297 units. All comparisons are by volume. As a result, the SAAR for July surged to 11.24 million units; US SAAR had been below 10 million since January.

Hybrids had an especially good month, with reported sales jumping 31.8% year-on-year to 35,429 units, representing a 3.55% new vehicle sales market share for the month—the highest monthly share yet. Hybrid gains were largely due to an increase in Prius sales (up 29.7% to 19,173 units) and Ford hybrids (up 323% to 5,353 units).

According to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, CARS sales reflected demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles:

• Ford reported a 9 mpg increase from trade-in vehicle to new vehicle purchase;
• GM reported a 54% increase in small car sales since the CARS program was launched;
• 57% of Mazdas sold so far under the program were fuel-efficient Mazda 3’s;
• 78% of Toyota’s CARS sales volume consists of Corolla, Prius, Camry, RAV 4 and Tacoma, which average a combined 30 mpg;
• Volkswagen reports more than 60% of its CARS sales are clean diesel Jetta TDIs which get an EPA combined 34 mpg.

Here is a quick snapshot of sales volume by manufacturer (in the hybrid category):

• GM delivered a total of 1,487 hybrid vehicles were delivered in the month, up 36.3% year-on-year.
• Ford’s fuel-efficient vehicles pace July sales results. Ford had an exceptionally strong month with hybrid sales, up 323% year-on-year to 5,353 units.
• Toyota Motor Sales (TMS) posted July sales of 24,295 hybrid vehicles, up 19.3% from the same period last year.
• Total sales of the fuel-efficient Honda Civic increased 3.1% to 30,037. Sales of the Civic Hybrid, however, plunged 71.8% to 969 units year-on-year. The new Honda Insight hybrid posted 2,295 units.
• Nissan sold 1,030 units of the Altima hybrid, up 44.1% year-on year.

Our friends at Jalopnik yesterday published a revised list of ten most purchased vehicles under the Cash for Clunkers program:

1. Ford Focus

2. Toyota Corolla

3. Honda Civic

4. Toyota Prius

5. Toyota Camry

6. Ford Escape FWD

7. Hyundai Elantra

8. Dodge Caliber

9. Honda Fit

10. Chevrolet Cobalt

Click here to read the entire report.

(Source: AP Via Yahoo & Time)

“Cash for clunkers” could have the same effect on global warming pollution as shutting down the entire country — every automobile, every factory, every power plant — for an hour per year. That could rise to three hours if the program is extended by Congress and remains as popular as it is now.

Climate experts aren’t impressed.

Compared to overall carbon dioxide emissions in the United States, the pollution savings from cash for clunkers do not noticeably move the fuel gauge. Environmental experts say the program — conceived primarily to stimulate the economy and jump-start the auto industry — is not an effective way to attack climate change.

“As a carbon dioxide policy, this is a terribly wasteful thing to do,” said Henry Jacoby, a professor of management and co-director of the Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change at MIT. “The amount of carbon you are saving per federal expenditure is very, very small.”

Officials expect a quarter-million gas guzzlers will be junked under the original $1 billion set aside by Congress — money that is now all but exhausted.

Calculations by The Associated Press, using Department of Transportation figures, show that replacing those fuel hogs will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by just under 700,000 tons a year. While that may sound impressive, it’s nothing compared to what the U.S. spewed last year: nearly 6.4 billion tons (and that was down from previous years).

That means on average, every hour, America emits 728,000 tons of carbon dioxide. The total savings per year from cash for clunkers translates to about 57 minutes of America’s output of the chief greenhouse gas.

Likewise, America will be using nearly 72 million fewer gallons of gasoline a year because of the program, based on the first quarter-million vehicles replaced. U.S. drivers go through that amount of gas every 4 1/2 hours, according to the Department of Energy.

Time Magazine reports that initial data released by Department of Transportation, however, shows that so far cash for clunkers has been a green success. The clunkers averaged 15.8 m.p.g., compared with 25.4 m.p.g. for the new vehicles purchased, for an average fuel-economy increase of 61%. On the whole, American drivers are trading in inefficient trucks and SUVs for much more efficient passenger cars. Car manufacturers like Nissan are already retooling some models to improve their fuel economy so they can qualify for the credits. The early numbers were enough to convince California Senator Dianne Feinstein to go from criticizing cash for clunkers as too lax to supporting additional funding for the bill in the Senate. “This program has done much better than we ever thought it would for the environment,” she told reporters on Aug. 4.

It’s called the efficiency paradox: as we get more efficient at using energy — through less wasteful cars and appliances — the overall cost of energy goes down, but we respond by using more of it. In the case of cars, that means driving more. Ultimately our gas bill stays the same, but we spend more time on the road and pump the same amount of greenhouse-gas emissions into the atmosphere. The earth isn’t any better off.

To address the emissions problem directly, we need to look at fuel, not Fords: institute carbon taxes that raise the price of gas. We already know that higher gas prices discourage driving and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions — total vehicle miles traveled in the U.S. declined 3.6% in 2008 compared with the previous year, thanks largely to the sky-high price of gas for much of 2008. (The recession didn’t help, but sharp declines in driving began well before the bottom dropped out of the economy.) As gas prices have fallen in 2009, however, driving has begun to tick back up.

Click here to read the entire article.

Webinar Overview TSAG Case Studies Workshop and Webinar A Rural Emergency Incident Utah US Route 163 Motor Coach Crash Date: August 26, 2009 Time: 9:00 AM–12:00 Noon, Pacific Time (12:00 – 3:00 PM EST) Cost: All T3s are free of charge PDH: 3.0. — Webinar participants are responsible for determining eligibility of these PDHs within their profession. Register On-line Contact the T3 Administrator Note: This workshop and webinar is a unique learning opportunity offered by the Transportation Safety Advancement Group (TSAG) and the ITS Professional Capacity Building Program’s Talking Technology & Transportation (T3) Program at the ITS Joint Program Office, U.S. DOT. The workshop will be presented to a live audience at the workshop location as well as to remote T3 webinar participants. T3 participants are invited to submit written questions before the Webinar as well as during workshop question and answer periods. Webinar participants may attend remotely for any portion of the 3-hour workshop. An audio of the event’s proceedings, synchronized with its presentations, will be available in the T3 Webinar archives approximately 4 weeks after the workshop. Background The Transportation Safety Advancement Group (TSAG) is facilitated and administered by the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America). Through its Workshop series and related work, TSAG provides input to the US Department of Transportation (US DOT), ITS Joint Program Office’s public safety mission. TSAG advises the ITS Joint Program Office on the development and deployment ITS technologies that optimize travel mobility, safety, economy, and environmental quality. Through its broad based membership comprised of transportation and public safety professionals, TSAG initiates programs that promote inter-disciplinary, inter-agency and inter-jurisdictional coordination and cooperation, and that promote partnerships for advancing surface transportation services technologies. For more information, visit the TSAG website. TSAG operates through resources provided by the US Department of Transportation and serves its program mission in compliance with US DOT regulations, policies and specified contract provisions. Utah US Route 163 Motor Coach Crash On January 6, 2008, at about 3:15 p.m. MST, a fifty-six passenger motor coach with a driver and 52 passengers on board departed Telluride, CO, en route to Phoenix, AZ, as part of a 17-motorcoach charter caravan returning from a 3-day ski trip. The normal route from Telluride to Phoenix along Colorado State Route 145 was closed due to snow and the lead caravan driver planned an alternate route that included US Route 163/191 through Utah. At about 8:02 PM, the motor coach, traveling southbound was descending a 5.6-percent grade leading to a curve to the left, 1,800 feet north of milepost 29 on U.S. Route 163. The weather was cloudy, and the roadway was dry. After entering the curve, the motor coach departed the right side of the roadway at a shallow angle, striking the guardrail with its right-rear wheel and lower coach body about 61 feet before the end of the guardrail. The coach traveled some 350 feet along the fore slope with the right tires off the roadway. The coach overturned, striking several rocks at the bottom of the embankment and came to rest on its wheels. During the 360-degree rollover, the roof of the motor coach separated from the body, and 50 of the 53 occupants were ejected. As a result of the crash, 9 passengers were fatally injured and 43 passengers and the driver received injuries, ranging from minor to serious. Case Studies Workshop & Webinar Overview Case Studies Workshop presenters will walk the audience through the details of the incident, including pre-crash, crash, and post-crash conditions and activities. The Workshop will focus on emergency response and management strategies and technologies, including communications between and among Police, Emergency Medical Services Utah DOT Transportation Operations personnel. Workshop presenters will discuss successes, failures and lessons learned and will highlight emergency response activities of local and regional emergency responders and will review operations strategies and technologies at the time of and in response to the incident. Target Audience Workshop participants include TSAG members, NRITS registrants, the T3 Webinar/ITS community, and other guests. Webinar target audience includes state and local public safety interests, including public safety managers and transportation operations, emergency communications, and emergency public safety practitioners. Additionally, private and academic and safety and technology research interests are encouraged to participate. TSAG Case Study Workshop Concept and Purpose The TSAG Case Studies Workshop concept targets case-studies of actual incidents or events associated with each of the eight (8) TSAG interest-community teams. TSAG communities of Interest include: Academic & Research Emergency Communications Emergency Management Emergency Medical Services Transportation Operations Fire and Safety Law Enforcement Technology and Telematics Thus, through reviews of actual recent events, incidents, and first-responder experiences, Case Studies Workshops facilitate after-event discussions by multi-discipline and multi-agency professionals for the purpose of: Clarifying actual circumstances of the event / incident Reviewing established response protocols and procedures Reviewing public safety technology applications Identifying unique management and response circumstances and challenges Reviewing successes, failures, and lessons-leaned The TSAG Case Studies Workshop & Webinar series is focused on the fundamental TSAG “technologies for public safety” TSAG mission. Learning Objectives The broad learning objectives of the TSAG Case Studies Workshop series include: Identify transportation-safety technologies and their real-time applications to operations surveillance and management Identify incident identification, emergency response and management Identify inter-agency and inter-discipline coordination and communications Learn of technology successes, failures, and lessons-learned Federal Host: Linda Dodge, Chief of Staff, US DOT, ITS Joint Program Office Workshop Presenters: John Leonard, Utah Department of Transportation As Traffic & Safety Operations Engineer, John Leonard evaluates the operational characteristics of projects, and coordinates their safety and efficiency aspects with UDOT project teams to determine that operational safety objectives are addressed. He participates in project reviews and promotes consensus opportunities to enhance safety outcomes and best practices. John manages resource and training activity for UDOT regions, private contractors and headquarters leadership. Through application of Context Sensitive Solutions, he promotes enhancement of UDOT relationships with public interests and identifies enhancements to serve the needs of UDOT partners and external customers. John assisted the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in their investigation of the Utah, Route 163 Motor Coach crash. He is a member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition. Sergeant Jeff Nigbur, Utah Department of Public Safety Sergeant Jeff Nigbur is the lead Public Information Officer for the Utah Department of Public Safety. He oversees public information activities for all divisions within the department, including the Utah Highway Patrol, State Crime Lab, Bureau of Criminal Identification, Utah Division of Homeland Security and State Fire Marshal, among others. Jeff has been involved with several high profile cases such as the Crandall Canyon Mine Disaster, Milford Flat Fire, the USU Van Roll-Over and other media awareness campaigns. Jeff received his Associates of Science degree in Criminal Justice in 2004 from Salt Lake Community College. He later earned a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Phoenix. Jeff is currently a motor squad instructor, DPS dive team master diver, and a member of the Utah Department of Public Safety’s SWAT team. Linda Larson, San Juan County, Emergency Medical Services Ms Larson has been in the EMS field for nine years and is the Director of San Juan County EMS Bureau, providing EMS services to one of the largest Utah counties plus portions of the Navaho Nation in Utah. She also serves as Assistant Team Leader for the Utah Department of Health, Bureau of EMS southeastern EMS Strike Team. Linda had a key role in the 2008 Motor Coach crash, declaring the crash a Mass Casualty Incident and engaging multiple agencies and multiple evacuation strategies. She managed on scene medical coordination and transportation from surrounding counties and adjacent State agencies. Ultimately the incident involved 4 air transport teams from multiple states, and the activation of the State of Utah, Bureau of EMS Strike Teams and CISM Team. Reference in this webinar to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by U.S. Department of Transportation.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 – ISSN 1529-1057

Register Now for IBTTA’s 77th Annual Meeting & Exhibition, September 13-16, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois!

IBTTA’s 77th Annual Meeting & Exhibition is the most significant gathering of toll industry professionals in the world. Attend this meeting and interact with the most influential experts and decision makers from around the globe and discuss ideas and solutions about transportation financing strategies, the future of tolling and paying for mobility, AET and Interoperability, new ideas for the new economy and sustainable transportation. Featured speakers include Stuart Varney, Business and Financial Journalist and Mark Shields, Syndicated Columnist and Political Analyst. Register by August 14 and receive a $100 discount off your registration fee. This meeting is hosted by the Illinois Tollway and will be held at the Hyatt Regency. For information on registration, hotel reservations, exhibiting or sponsorship, visit IBTTA’s website at www.ibtta.org Register today and get ready for the Transformation of Transportation!

GPS / NAVIGATION

1) GPS In Punjab Traffic Police Vehicles Saved 1130 Lives in a Month

Link to story on Punjab Newsline:

http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/17855/38/

MARITIME

2) ‘Big Brother’ Watching Tasmanian Ports

Link to Australian Broadcasting Corp. News story:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/04/2645672.htm

Link to news release from the Tasmania Government:

http://www.media.tas.gov.au/release.php?id=27493

PARKING

3) Electronic San Francisco Parking Meters are Easy to Bilk

Link to story in The Examiner:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Electronic-city-parking-meters-are-easy-to-bilk-52402397.html

SAFETY / SECURITY

4) US Transportation Secretary Calls Summit on Distracted Driving

Link to AP story:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gBh5ii0HJc5TbtwUI4uxCB1DgKaAD99S0DCG1

Link to news release from US DOT:

http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2009/dot11409.htm

TRANSIT

5) BART Starts Accepting TransLink Fare Cards

Link to story in the San Francisco Chronicle:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/04/BA9F193EE0.DTL

6) London-Related Lyrics to Appear on Transport for London Mugs and T-shirts

Link to story in NME:

http://www.nme.com/news/pete-doherty/46458

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

7) Follow I-10 Louisiana Construction on Facebook

Link to story in The Times-Picayune:

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/follow_i10_construction_on_fac.html

Link to Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Baton-Rouge-LA/Louisiana-Department-of-Transportation-and-Development-DOTD/74154292700?v=wall&viewas=1282261536

8) Some Lament the Loss of Raleigh Beltline’s Code Words

Link to column in The News & Observer:

http://www.newsobserver.com/248/story/1633139.html

VEHICLES

9) Obama Administration Withholds Data on ‘Cash-for-Clunkers’ Program

Link to AP story:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gHQR7IBwnpzrhYyGjozayepT-CLQD99S6M481

10) Electronic Driving Instructors Put Thousands of Bus Drivers Through Their Paces

Link to story on silicon.com:

http://networks.silicon.com/telecoms/0,39024659,39476533,00.htm

News Releases

1) Tennessee DOT Receives 2 Millionth Call

2) Port Manatee Launches Newly Redesigned Web Site

3) Inrix Traffic Now Available on App Store

4) MARTA Releases New Web Site and Asks for Customer Feedback

5) Texas DOT Gets Social with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

6) Traffic Management Plan for Delhi

Upcoming Events

TSAG Case Studies Workshop and Webinar: A Rural Emergency Incident
Utah US Route 163 Motor Coach Crash – August 26

http://www.pcb.its.dot.gov/t3/s090826_tsag_rural.asp

Today in Transportation History

1964 **45^th anniversary** – The US Navy reports an engagement with North Vietnamese boats in the Gulf of Tonkin.

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=98

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

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday.

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

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

© 2009 Bernie Wagenblast

(Source: SF Gate)

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s chief operating officer handed in his resignation today, an announcement that comes in the wake of two high-profile accidents involving city streetcars.

Kenneth McDonald said he will give up his post effective Oct. 9.

“I promised when I came here that I would give three years,” McDonald told The Chronicle. He said Oct. 9 is his three-year anniversary with the agency.

McDonald said he is proud of his accomplishments and those of his operations team during his tenure, citing improvements in on-time performance, vehicle availability, safety and training. The number of missed runs is down and discipline for problem operators has been toughened.

“We have done an excellent job in improving operations,” he said.

McDonald would not say whether the recent accidents, in particular a collision between two Metro trains at the West Portal Station July 18 in which nearly 50 people were injured, played into his decision to leave.

The resignation was in the works prior Monday evening’s crash in the Castro District that involved two historic streetcars and an SVU, according to several city officials.

Nathaniel Ford, Muni’s executive director, praised McDonald and downplayed any suggestion that his top operations manager was being forced out. Ford steered clear of laying blame on McDonald for the recent collisions, or two others last year involving rail vehicles that sent several people to the hospital.

In the July 18 incident, local, state and federal investigators are looking at why the operator of the Metro streetcar that slammed into another one turned off the automatic train control system prior to the collision, an apparent violation of Muni policy. The driver told investigators he blacked out before the crash.

In Monday night’s incident, it appears that another Muni rule was violated when a historic streetcar collided with an SUV, which then plowed into another historic streetcar on the F-line. Muni policy calls for streetcars to travel at least 250 feet apart. The crash near Market and Noe streets injured six people, none seriously, officials said.

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: AP via Yahoo & New York Times)

The Senate will vote to extend the popular “cash-for-clunkers” program before going home on Friday, Majority Leader Harry Reid declared Tuesday in a strong signal the government won’t let the trade-in rebates die under the surging demand that has almost exhausted federal backing.

Reid’s GOP counterpart, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, predicted his party would not block a vote and “the matter will be completed.” Republicans were still demanding a chance to amend a House-passed version that would extend the program into September, but Democrats were confident the bill wouldn’t be changed.

“There obviously is a real pent-up demand in America,” the Transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, said. “People love to buy cars, and we’ve given them the incentive to do that. I think the last thing that any politician wants to do is cut off the opportunity for somebody who’s going to be able to get a rebate from the government to buy a new automobile.”

Visiting the White House for a lunch with the President, Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, was also asked about the program.

“We’ll pass ‘cash for clunkers,’ ” he said. And Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, who is the minority leader, said there would be a vote, but he did not suggest an outcome.  Opposition to extending the program has been dissipating. One vocal GOP critic, South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, said Tuesday he would not try to block the legislation. And three lawmakers who wanted the program limited to the purchase of even more fuel-efficient vehicles said Monday they would back the plan.

Republicans have said it puts the government in the bad position of picking winners and losers.

“People want to know what’s going to be next. Cash for shoes? Cash for groceries?” said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.

The first $1 billion in funding is expected to lead to sales of 250,000 vehicles and the additional $2 billion would generate sales of perhaps a half-million more vehicles.  The program has encouraged about a quarter-million Americans to buy new cars at time when the economy is still in recession and badly needs a boost.

Buyers of new cars and trucks have swamped formerly deserted auto dealers to claim their rebates — up to $4,500 when they trade in older models that get significantly worse gas mileage. The older vehicles are then scrapped.

Because the House has already recessed for August, any change by the Senate would effectively interrupt the rebate program until Congress returns in September. Consumers who don’t get in on a deal this week would have to wait until then to take advantage of the rebates, assuming eventual passage.

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: NY Times)

The Department of Transportation plans to hold a summit meeting on distracted driving in September, according to a safety advocate who was invited to participate reported NY Times on Monday.

David Teater, a spokesman for the National Safety Council, a nonprofit advocacy group, said the Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, plans to hold a press conference Tuesday to announce plans for the summit meeting.

The agency confirmed that Secretary LaHood is making an announcement Tuesday “about combating distracted driving,” including practices like texting behind the wheel.  As indicated the Secretary went public, outlining his plans for a summit this morning.  In late September, senior transportation officials, elected officials, safety advocates, law enforcement representatives and academics will convene in Washington, DC to discuss ideas about how to combat distracted driving.

“If it were up to me, I would ban drivers from texting, but unfortunately, laws aren’t always enough,” said Sec. LaHood. “We’ve learned from past safety awareness campaigns that it takes a coordinated strategy combining education and enforcement to get results. That’s why this meeting with experienced officials, experts and law enforcement will be such a crucial first step in our efforts to put an end to distracted driving.”

Secretary LaHood noted today on his Fast Lane Blog: