Bernie’s Transportation Communications Newsletter (TCN) – March 26, 2010

March 26, 2010 at 5:16 pm

Friday, March 26, 2010 – ISSN 1529-1057


Using the Phone and E-mail to Disseminate Transportation Information

As many of you know, in addition to editing the TCN and other transportation newsletters, I also lend my voice to a variety of transport projects.  This week I discovered an interesting service that allows you to easily record a message by phone or online and then add it to an e-mail message.  Seeing how transportation agencies and organizations are using everything from e-mail to Twitter accounts to share information, I thought this is an innovative method to engage those you want to reach in a different way.  I’ve included a couple of links to let you hear how it sounds.  The first is a message I recorded over the phone.

Phone message

The second example was done with a professional microphone.  It’s one of the announcements I made for the AirTrain at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Airport announcement

With this you could take advantage of those speakers attached to most computers and truly talk to your customers or constituents.  Using voice is more personal and conveys emotion better than words on a screen ever can.  Please contact me at bernie@bwcommunications.net if you’d like more information.  You can also visit my Web site at www.bwcommunications.net.

AVIATION

1) Air Traffic Controller Honored for Helping Pilot in Danger

Link to story and video on WISC-TV:

http://www.channel3000.com/news/22960687/detail.html

BICYCLES

2) Los Angeles DOT Launches Bicycle Blog

Link to LADOT Bike Blog:

http://ladotbikeblog.wordpress.com/

GPS / NAVIGATION

3) Court Rules Cell Phone GPS Records Not Enough to Dismiss Speeding Ticket

Link to CNET News article:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20001248-38.html

MARITIME

4) Safety Pain Scheme: Increasing Safety Morale

Link to article in Marine News:

http://dwp.marinelink.com/pubs/nwm/MN/201003/

PEDESTRIANS

5) British Columbia Launching Online Map to Show Walking Routes Around Province

Link to article in the Vancouver Sun:

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=80b851e2-2b74-4b94-85d5-663862b023c3

ROADWAYS

6) ‘Hell is Real’ Bill Could Cost Kentucky $42 Million a Year in Federal Transportation Money

Legislation would exempt regulation of certain billboards.

Link to article in the Lexington Herald-Leader:

http://www.kentucky.com/2010/03/26/1198054/hell-is-real-bill-could-cost-state.html

TRANSIT

7) Uh Oh, Los Angeles Metro’s Time Schedule Monitors

Some suggestions on what the MTA can do to provide greater access to departure times on their monitors.

Link to blog on Plus Metro:

http://www.plusmetro.com/archive/all/2010/03/25/uh-oh-metros-time-schedule-monitors

News Releases

1) Destination-Specific Content Now Available on US Airways Boarding Passes

2) Ohio DOT District 7 Unveils New Online Technology Available to Motorists

3) British Columbia, Washington State Improve Cross-Border Travel with Expanding Traveler Information Systems

Upcoming Events

Webinars: National Transit Database Rural Reporting – Various Dates

http://www.ntionline.com/CourseInfo.asp?CourseNumber=TRI18-18 (State DOTs and Tribes)

http://www.ntionline.com/CourseInfo.asp?CourseNumber=TRI18-19 (Transit Agency Personnel)

Friday Bonus

Waiting for the Paris Metro? You might be in an IKEA ad.

http://www.fastcompany.com/1583435/waiting-for-the-paris-metro-you-might-be-in-an-ad

Today in Transportation History

1910 **100th anniversary** Orville Wright made the first engine-powered flight in Alabama in Montgomery.  The site later became Maxwell Air Force Base.

http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1364

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© 2010 Bernie Wagenblast  www.bwcommunications.net