Just as the nation watches nervously about the impacts of sequestration (while the political blame game rages unabated), the satirists at The Onion have profiled one of the biggest critics of this manufactured crisis – U.S. Department of Transportation’s Secretary Ray LaHood – and how he is dealing with the sequestration. Quite a funny one.
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Iteris, Inc. has a dynamic opportunity available for a Regional Sales Director, Latin America (RSDLA) based in Mexico, South or Central America. This position will be responsible for all Roadway Sensor sales and marketing activities within the region. The qualified professional will leverage existing contacts within the highway transportation/traffic management market to generate new business opportunities for Iteris. We are seeking an individual with previous
experience in achieving sales targets who is presently leading a regional business development program ideally for a company in Intelligent Transportation Systems. The RSDLA will have excellent technical presentation and negotiation skills as well as an enthusiastic approach to new business with multilingual communication skills. Visit our website: www.iteris.com Contact Anne Bologna, Senior Recruiter: amb@iteris.com. All correspondence will be kept strictly confidential. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Say hello to Honk, a neat little app (now available on iOS platform for $0.99) that solves two of the biggest headaches (especially in urban environments that you are unfamiliar) – remembering where you parked and also remembering if your meter time is up. Here are some of the features as mentioned in the app store:
Pretty cool, right? Check out the little video from Mashable that explains all this:
via InsuranceQuotes.org
Here is a neat infographic that shows the benefits of moving towards autonomous vehicles.. Though some of the statistics seen in the graphic are old and needs revision (esp. fatality numbers, which continues to see a steady decline every year), it still reminds you of the sheer size and scope of the problems we encounter in the current scenario of human-piloted vehicles. Oh, Google Cars is not the only game in town when it comes to autonomous vehicles. Not anymore. Most auto OEMs are ramping up their research to make sure they remain relevant when Google’s project materializes. That said, the transportation systems that are currently developed for the coming decade looks quite promising!
Moral of the story, don’t hesitate to use your darn mobile phone when you are standing at that unassumingly boring plain vanilla bus stop. In this campaign, mobile electronics firm Qualcomm put up a poster featuring a URL and waited for people to visit the mobile site. When the visitors got to the website, the fun began. Watch to see what happens at probably what I call the best bus stop ever. Sigh! I wish my bus stop would offer something like this to spice up my sleepy mornings.
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TDM Specialist
Position Description
The primary function of the TDM Specialist is to serve as an advocate for alternative transportation options. The Specialist also acts as a liaison among a variety of agencies working cooperatively to promote TDM and alternative commute options. The TDM Specialist will advocate for policy directions that support alternative modes of transportation and TDM strategies while also coordinating with various agencies in the development of related programs. Additionally, the position will review development proposals and work with clients to develop and implement programs to promote alternative transportation modes, improve air quality, and reduce automobile trips. The position also entails monitoring results, verifying plan compliance, and researching other successful programs.
Duties and Responsibilities
1. Conduct highly technical transportation analyses to form basis for future recommendations.
2. Develop scopes of work and contractual documents, as project manager, and assume responsibility for managing consulting services to address long and short term regional travel issues.
3. Supervise data collection efforts and record data in a concise and functional format, and review completed data prior to dissemination.
4. Serve as spokesperson for our clients at meetings, special and media events.
5. Organize, attend, and/or participate in special events and promotions advocating transportation alternatives.
6. Establish and maintain effective relationships with local, state, and federal agencies, employers, and other parties to develop transportation programs and resolve other transportation issues.
7. Implement annual communication plans that include promotional and educational strategies.
8. Supervise the efforts of lower level staff members.
9. Perform responsible professional and administrative related duties as required.
Qualifications
Education and/or Experience Bachelor’s degree (B.A.) in Transportation, Engineering, Geography, Planning, Economics or a relevant social science. Previous experience working in commuter transportation/TDM industry is desirable.
Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities
Computer proficiency and knowledge of transportation planning principles and experience with Transportation Demand Management concepts and strategies is highly preferred. Applicant should have excellent oral and written communication skills, be organized, capable of working independently on complex assignments, and manage multiple tasks.
Must possess a driver’s license and have access to a vehicle during business hours.
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TDM Marketing and Communication Specialist
Position Description
The primary function of the Marketing and Communication Specialist is to serve as an advocate for alternative transportation options. The Specialist also acts as a liaison among a variety of organizations working cooperatively to promote TDM and alternative commute options. The Marketing and Communication Specialist has a direct responsibility to develop marketing strategies that advertise TDM programs and promote travel behavior change. The Specialist generally assists with the following duties and reports to the Senior TDM Specialist.
Duties and Responsibilities
1. Organize, attend, and/or participate in special events and promotions advocating transportation alternatives.
2. Serve as spokesperson for our clients at meetings, special and media events.
3. Develop and implement all outreach and marketing activities, campaigns, and strategies to promote alternative transportation programs. This can be done through a combination of personal contacts, brochures, mass mailings, public presentations, special events, the Internet, social media, etc.
4. Establish and maintain effective relationships with local, state, and federal agencies, employers, and other parties to develop transportation programs and resolve other transportation issues.
5. Develop and implement annual communication plans that include promotional and educational strategies.
6. Performs and supervises all communication, outreach, marketing, public relations, and media duties relating to TDM projects as required.
7. Supervise the efforts of lower level staff members.
8. Assist the Senior TDM Specialist with the aforementioned duties and performs other related tasks as required
Qualifications
Education and/or Experience Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Journalism, Public Relations, Marketing/ Advertising, Business or Public Administration. Previous experience working in commuter transportation/TDM industry is desirable.
Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities
Must have proficiency in MS Office Applications, desktop publishing, database and spreadsheet software. Strong interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills are required. Must have the ability to effectively prepare and present information to various groups. The ability to work independently or with others to manage multiple tasks with minimal supervision is essential. Knowledge of marketing principles to develop and implement strategies to promote TDM programs is critical. A creative thinker a plus.
Must possess a driver’s license and have access to a vehicle during business hours.
Contact
If interested in applying for the TDM Specialist positions, please send a cover letter and resume to Courtney Menjivar atcjmenjivar@mjwells.com. Learn more about WELLS + ASSOCIATES.
Today TTI had released its latest edition of the popular product – Urban Mobility Report (2012). The 2012 edition introduced for the first time, a way to measure that degree of unreliability in planning a trip, as part of the annual Urban Mobility Report (UMR). The press release explains it succintly:
The Planning Time Index (PTI), a measure of travel reliability, illustrates the amount of extra time needed to arrive on time for higher priority events, such as an airline departure, just-in-time shipments, medical appointments or especially important social commitments. If the PTI for a particular trip is 3.00, a traveler would allow 60 minutes for a trip that typically takes 20 minutes when few cars are on the road. Allowing for a PTI of 3.00 would ensure on-time arrival 19 out of 20 times.
Access the whole report (PDF) by clicking the cover photo of the report below.
TTI’s 2012 Urban Mobility Report
As one would expect, the reactions for the report was mixed – both positive and negative from the transportation community. That said, here are some highlights from the 2012 UMR:
Congestion costs are increasing. The congestion “invoice” for the cost of extra time and fuel in 498 urban areas was (all values in constant 2011 dollars):
- In 2011 – $121 billion; In 2000 – $94 billion; In 1982 – $24 billion
Congestion wastes a massive amount of time, fuel and money. In 2011:
- 5.5 billion hours of extra time (equivalent to the time businesses and individuals spend a year filing their taxes).
- 2.9 billion gallons of wasted fuel (enough to fill four New Orleans Superdomes).
- $121 billion of delay and fuel cost (the negative effect of uncertain or longer delivery times, missed meetings, business relocations and other congestion-related effects are not included) ($121 billion is equivalent to the lost productivity and direct medical expenses of 12 average flu seasons).
- 56 billion pounds of additional carbon dioxide (CO2) greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere during urban congested conditions (equivalent to the liftoff weight of over 12,400 Space Shuttles with all fuel tanks full).
- 22% ($27 billion) of the delay cost was the effect of congestion on truck operations; this does not include any value for the goods being transported in the trucks.
- The cost to the average commuter was $818 in 2011 compared to an inflation-adjusted $342 in 1982.
English: Traffic congestion on southbound Interstate 95 in Baltimore, Maryland, near milepost 50. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Congestion affects people who travel during the peak period. The average commuter:
- Spent an extra 38 hours traveling in 2011, up from 16 hours in 1982.
- Wasted 19 gallons of fuel in 2011 – a week’s worth of fuel for the average U.S. driver – up from 8 gallons in 1982.
- In areas with over three million persons, commuters experienced an average of 52 hours of delay in 2011.
- Suffered 6 hours of congested road conditions on the average weekday in areas over 3 million population.
- Fridays are the worst days to travel. The combination of work, school, leisure and other trips mean that urban residents earn their weekend after suffering over 20 percent more delay hours than on Mondays.
- And if all that isn’t bad enough, folks making important trips had to plan for approximately three times as much travel time as in light traffic conditions in order to account for the effects of unexpected crashes, bad weather, special events and other irregular congestion causes.
Congestion is also a problem at other hours.
Approximately 37 percent of total delay occurs in the midday and overnight (outside of the peak hours) times of day when travelers and shippers expect free-flow travel. Many manufacturing processes depend on a free-flow trip for efficient production and congested networks interfere with those operations.
(source: Frost and Sullivan)
The chart below came to me via twitter and I felt compelled to share.. As the pace of technology deployment accelerated in the automotive market , one of the directly impacted segments was the carsharing business. What used to be a small segment dominated by ZipCar has now burgeoned into a full blown industry and more new participants are entering the fray with bold new ideas. It is only going to get better in the days ahead as the technology matures and more people decide to ditch their personal vehicles and opt for “renting” by the hour (i.e., sharing).
An awesome visual, courtesy of Mikael Colville-Andersen of Copenhagenize.com, that tells how our mobility models have changed over the years.. In a way it serves a testament to show how much the highway lobby has influenced our society’s transportation preferences, diminishing walking and bicycling over the generations.
A Short History of Traffic Engineering – Image Courtesy: Copenhagenize.com
