Image via TRB - Beckman Center -- Click here to register and for additional event details.

This year’s ITS Committee mid-year workshop will focus on IntelliDrive(SM) and is planned for September 21-22 at the Beckman Center in Irvine, California. Visit the link above to register and reserve your hotel room. The deadline for reduced hotel rates is August 13.

The goal of the mid-year workshop is to consider the potential impact of IntelliDrive, and the data it will generate, on the various components of the transportation enterprise, including agency organization, finances, and staffing, in addition to planning, operations, safety, and maintenance.  The workshop will bring together public and private sector transportation thought leaders and practitioners to develop research statements that explore how IntelliDrive will affect the work of infrastructure owners and operators.

In addition to the ITS Committee workshop, the ITS Joint Program Office will convene a one-day workshop on Monday September 20, (preceding the TRB meeting) to explore the impact of emerging trends and innovations, shifting priorities and changing requirements on the evaluation of ITS.  The release in early 2010 of the U.S. DOT ITS Strategic Research Plan lays out new goals and initiatives in the ITS Program that impact national and local ITS projects.

The ITS Evaluation Program managers are keenly interested in the input from the transportation community on advancing the practice and increasing the value of ITS evaluation, and identifying the evaluation needs of the transportation community.  The workshop will give participants the opportunity to provide feedback on the Evaluation Program, share innovative evaluation practices, and identify evaluation needs.This intense and engaging two-part event promises workshop participants a great opportunity to learn and to contribute to the continuing evolution of the ITS program.

Click here to access the TRB ITS Committee website.

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• US DOT Issues Request for Information on Uses of ITS Systems and IntelliDrive to Improve Transportation Environmental Performance (greencarcongress.com)

(Source:  via Irish Times, NY Times, Guardian, UK)

On July 18th, Germany shut down its busiest Autobahn for celebrating life – appropriately titled “Still-Life A40”.  The “Still Life” festival on Sunday in the Ruhr region in western Germany offered some surreal images and video footage of the autobahn without cars and overrun with pedestrians.

A 37-mile stretch of Germany’s famous highway system, between Dortmund and Duisburg, was closed to motor vehicles for the street festival and replaced by a line of 20,000 tables, reports The Guardian. Around three million people attended the event.

The ambitious aim of “Still Life” was to change negative attitudes in Germany towards the Ruhr, a region known for the last six decades as the capital of smokestacks, steel mills, and soot.

Some five million people live in this urban sprawl of cities, where Duisburg runs into Essen into Bochum and on to Dortmund. Yesterday more than two million locals – every second resident – flooded the A40 expressway for this highlight of the 2010 European Capital of Culture in Essen and its Ruhr sister cities.

For one day the Ruhr was connected up with 20,000 tables and as many mini-parties from bowling clubs alongside school groups, scout troops and theatre troupes. A friendly festival on the otherwise hostile, anonymous Autobahn.

For kilometre after kilometre, the party kept on rolling. Strangers salsa danced in the sun near Duisburg and 100 newly wed brides in their gleaming white wedding dresses handed out red roses near Essen.

Television pictures from the air showed crowds milling around on a road where cars usually race along at speeds of 160 kph (100 mph) or more.

One lane of the autobahn, which crosses North Rhine-Westphalia state, was kept free for skaters and cyclists – and more than one million revellers brought bicycles, including the state premier, Hannelore Kraft.

There are no general speed limits on Germany’s autobahns. Cars often speed up to 200km per hour (125mph) or more. In dense or dangerous areas, drivers are often required to slow down to 120 km per hour (75mph).

Transportgooru Musings:  I wonder what is the total fuel savings from this shut down?  Does anyone have any idea of potential savings resulting from this event (fuel savings, CO2 Emissions reduction, etc).  Oh well, beyond the economic/monetary benefits, it is always wonderful to see the community getting a chance to explore their own infrastructure by foot and bicycle.  I dream of a day our Washington,DC’s infamous beltway shuts down once a year for a festivity like this, bringing together communities for a get together that celebrates the diversity of the region.  It would be nothing but a MASSIVE  hit and I’m sure my fellow American citizens would definitely celebrate this.  After all, the Americans know how to throw a party, better than anyone on earth.

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• Autobahn Party: German Highway Shut Down For ‘Still Life’ (huffingtonpost.com)
• Life’s a picnic on Germany’s autobahn (guardian.co.uk)
• Autobahn Closed for Festival (wheels.blogs.nytimes.com)
• No autos on the autobahn: Germans party on highway (sfgate.com)
• No Autos on the Autobahn: Germans Party on Highway (abcnews.go.com)
• Two Million Join Party on German Autobahn (abcnews.go.com)
• German motorway hosts huge party (bbc.co.uk)
• Life in the Fast Lane: Two Million Join Party on German Autobahn (spiegel.de)
• No autos on the autobahn: Germans party on highway (usatoday.com)
• Jim: Coffeed Up: Still Life Festival In Germany Germans party on the autobahn – eTurboNews.com (eturbonews.com)
• German autobahn closed for mass 60km picnic (newslite.tv)
• No autos on the autobahn: Germans party on highway (ctv.ca)
• Germans hold 60 km-long party on motorway (reuters.com)

The U.S. Department of Transportation‘s (USDOT) Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS-JPO), part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), will hold a three-day workshop to present and discuss IntelliDrive ^SM* Safety program research roadmaps, including applications, technical and policy activities from July 20-22, 2010 in Chicago, IL.

Safety is critical to the mission of the transportation industry. This workshop is intended as an opportunity for stakeholders to review and provide feedback for refinement on the safety program roadmaps, including technical and policy issues.

There will also be a Professional Capacity Building Workshop (PCB) to engage stakeholders on setting a new strategic direction for the ITS PCB program considering the goals of the new ITS Strategic Research Plan, gather stakeholder input on learning needs, and discuss the future goals for the program.

The sessions and your participation are essential in assisting the ITS-JPO to advance transportation safety.

USDOT has adjusted the agenda based on stakeholder feedback from recent workshops. The new modified agenda features:

Tuesday, July 20 – 9:00-5:00 CDT (webinar available – See webinar info. below)
IntelliDrive Safety Program Roadmaps and Discussion (V2V, Safety Pilot, DSRC Device Certification, V2I Safety)

Wednesday, July 21 – 9:00-noon CDT

• Professional Capacity
• Building Workshop

Wednesday, July 21 – 9:00-noon CDT
DSRC Device Bidder’s Conference

Wednesday, July 21 – 1:00-5:00 CDT IntelliDrive Safety Policy Roadmaps Discussion focused on V2V and V2I

Thursday, July 22 – 8:30-2:30 CDT (webinar available – See webinar info. below)
Breakout Sessions on IntelliDrive Policy Topics and V2I Roadmap – A series of discussion sessions will be held on Thursday morning (July 22nd) to answer questions and elicit feedback on the Safety Program Policy Roadmap (presented on Wednesday afternoon).   The discussion sessions will provide workshop participants with an opportunity to explore details and provide input on expected requirements.  The workshop designers have identified two areas of interest for discussion that are described below.  However, time will be set aside on Wednesday afternoon to identify additional discussion sessions based on the interest of participants.

Breakout 1.  Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Roadmap Discussion – The focus of this discussion session is to carry forward questions from the Tuesday afternoon presentation on Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) and provide the time for an in-depth Q&A.  The objective of this session discussion is to validate the technical roadmap and identify policy issues associated with moving the technical research forward.

Breakout 2. Cost-Benefit Analysis – Cost-benefit-analysis (CBA) is an essential step in deriving the societal benefits of IntelliDrive for the Nation. However, CBA is comprised of different types of analysis that, overall, provide stakeholders with an understanding how IntelliDrive benefits their organizations.  The purpose of this breakout session is to present on the different approaches proposed for IntelliDrive CBA and to stimulate discussion with stakeholders on their perspective on the opportunities and direct financial impacts of IntelliDrive.  The session will explore specific cases; for example, the case wherein IntelliDrive could enhance or substitute for older technologies such as loop detectors.  The objective of this session discussion is to validate the CBA and seek input as to the most efficient methods of seeking data from stakeholders.

Policy Breakout Session Descriptions – DOC

Who Should Attend

• Transportation Industry Professionals
• Transportation System Operators
• Government Transportation Specialists
• Academia Transportation Specialists
• Roadway Safety Activists
• Wireless Communication Device Manufacturers
• Auto Manufacturers
• Anyone interested in learning about IntelliDrive safety practices and their practical implementation in improving transportation sector safety.

Registration Cost
All attendees FREE

On-site registration will be available but pre-registration is encouraged.

To Pre-Register contact:

ITS America Staff: Brei Whitty
E-mail: bwhitty@itsa.org
Fax: 202-484-3483
Website: www.intellidriveusa.org

Hotel Information/ Meeting Location

Participants are responsible for their own hotel reservations. Please mention the room block “IntelliDrive” when booking by June 28, 2010.

Hilton Chicago Northbrook
2855 North Milwaukee Avenue
Northbrook, IL 60062-6103
Phone: 847-480-7500
Fax: 847-480-0827
www.northbrook.hilton.com

WEBINAR Info:

Meeting Name: IntelliDriveSM Safety Workshop
When:  Tuesday – 07/20/2010 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Thursday – 7/22/2010 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM
Time Zone:  (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US and Canada)
Website:  http://itsa.na5.acrobat.com/intellidrivews/
If you have never attended a Connect Pro meeting before:
Test your connection: http://itsa.na5.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm
Get a quick overview: http://www.adobe.com/go/connectpro_overview

AUDIO Conference Details:
Conference Number(s): 1-866-502-8312
Participant Code: 175569

Click here for our one-page workshop flyer.

*IntelliDrive is a service mark of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

June 2010

Prepared by the Office of Planning, Environment and Realty Federal Highway Administration: www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/climate/

To view PDF files, you need the Acrobat® Reader®.

Recent Events

Report Highlights Roadway Corridor Energy Efficiency Strategies. Environmental Corridor Management was prepared as part of the NCHRP 25-25 “quick turnaround” research. The chapter “the Energy Efficient Highway: How Efficient Are Our Corridors?” includes a lengthy and informative discussion of Oregon’s experiences implementing their Oregon Solar Highway program. Among numerous other sustainability strategies, the document also reports on experiences with:

• wind generation in highway rights of way
• solar powered LED and compact fluorescent lighting for signs,
• LED luminairs and signals,
• highly retroreflective sign material in place of sign lighting,
• increased energy efficiencies from operations,
• minimizing need for new construction via operational improvements,
• more efficient fleets, and
• recycled materials in roadway construction.

EPA Announces 2009 Clean Air Excellence Award Winners. Several of the 2009 winners have demonstrated or are working toward transportation greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The District Department of Transportation was recognized for launching the SmartBikeDC bike sharing program, and Car2Go and the city of Austin were recognized for their car sharing program. Sunline Transit Agency in CA was honored as the first agency to own and operate a hydrogen generating and dispensing station. They have upgraded the facility so that it can serve commercial customers as well as the transit agency’s own busses. More details on these and other award winning initiatives are available on EPA’s Clean Air Excellence Awards website.

FHWA/AASHTO Climate Change Adaptation Peer Exchange Report Released. FHWA with the support of AASHTO convened a peer exchange on current climate change adaptation activities and strategic needs in Schaumburg, Illinois, on December 8, 2009. This workshop included senior officials of state departments of transportation, FHWA headquarters and division offices and AASHTO. This report summarizes the results of the exchange, and is one of series of FHWA reports documenting the results of national peer exchanges on integrating climate change considerations into the transportation planning process.

State and Local News

Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States Launch Transportation and Climate Initiative. On June 16, 11 Northeast states and the District of Columbia launched a Transportation and Climate Change Initiative “to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, minimize our transportation system’s reliance on high-carbon fuels, promote sustainable growth, address the challenges of vehicle-miles traveled and help build the clean energy economy.” More information and a copy of the signed declaration of intent are available on the Georgetown Climate Center website.

MassDOT Announces Comprehensive Sustainable Transportation Initiative. On June 2, MassDOT launched GreenDOT, an effort to incorporate sustainability into all of the DOT’s activities. The initiative has a goal of reducing GHG emissions by over 2 million tons by 2020. The DOT aims to combat climate change by measures such as balancing highway expansion projects with projects that promote biking, walking, public transit, and smart growth. The DOT will also make investments in a green fleet and renewable power. The policy directive includes an illustrative list of the initiatives that MassDOT is implementing to achieve the GreenDOT goals. For more information, see the MassDOT Policy Directive or the press release.

New York City Panel on Climate Change Releases Adaptation Resources. The NPCC has released Climate Change Adaptation in New York City: Building a Risk Management Response, to provide a “foundation” for climate change adaptation in New York City and tools to start formulating an adaptation response. The document includes a brief analysis of NYC’s transit system vulnerabilities. NPCC’s eight step Adaptation Assessment Guidebook is included as Appendix B. And a workbook on “Incorporating Climate Change into Design and Performance Standards” is Appendix C.

California Air Resources Board Releases Draft Regional GHG Reduction Targets. CARB has released the draft GHG emission reduction targets for passenger vehicles for the state’s 18 MPOs as part of the implementation of SB 375. The 2020 and 2035 targets are expressed in per capita ghg emissions range compared to 2005 levels. The targets were informed by scenario planning analyses. As most of the infrastructure decisions affecting the 2020 network have already been made, the nearer term targets are based largely on operational improvements. Many MPOs also adjusted their 2020 forecasts to take the economic downturn into account. The four largest MPOs have a draft 2020 reduction target of 5-10 percent.

Announcements

FHWA Seeks Pilot Locations For Climate Vulnerability/Risk Assessment. FHWA is soliciting interested DOTs and MPOs to partner with us in piloting approaches to conduct climate change vulnerability and risk assessments of transportation infrastructure. The purpose of the pilots is twofold; 1) to assist State DOTs and MPOs more quickly advance existing adaptation assessment activities and 2) to assist FHWA in “test-driving” the model. Based on the feedback received through the pilots, FHWA will revise and finalize the model for national application. It is anticipated that 3-4 awards will be made at approximately $200,000 to $300,000 each. By Federal statute, a 50% non-Federal match is required for these funds to be awarded to the pilot areas. In-kind contributions such as staffing can be counted towards the match requirement. Applications are due to the relevant FHWA Division Office by July 30. For more information, see the solicitation announcement and the conceptual model which will soon be available on the FHWA Climate Change Activities Webpage.

FTA Seeks Applicants for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction Projects. FTA has $75 million in FY10 funds available in its Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) Program for grants to public agencies. The grants are for capital projects that reduce GHG emissions or energy use from public transit systems. Projects must request between $1,000,000 and $25,000,000. Applications for projects less than $1,000,000 may be applied for if they are part of a consolidated proposal submitted by the State DOT that, in total, meets or exceeds the $1,000,000 threshold. Applications are due August 11. For more information, see the announcement on the grants.gov website.

Northern Transportation and Air Quality Summit to be Held Aug 24-26 in Cambridge, MA. Registration is now open for NTAQS, the biennial Air Quality conference sponsored by FHWA and EPA Regions 1, 2, and 3. Several presentations on climate change are planned. The Boston MPO and NESCAUM are co-sponsors of this years’ event.

EPA Seeks 2010 Clean Air Excellence Award Nominations. In a June 21 Federal Register Notice, EPA issued a call for nominees to recognize efforts toward achieving cleaner air. These recognition awards are open to both the public and private sector. Applications must be postmarked by August 13.

If you have any suggestions for inclusion in future issues of Transportation and Climate Change News, or if someone forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like to receive it directly in the future, please send your suggestions or request to Becky Lupes at Rebecca.Lupes@dot.gov.

FHWA HQ Contacts in the Office of Planning, Environment & Realty:

Office of Natural and Human Environment, Sustainable Transport & Climate Change Team
Diane Turchetta, Acting Team Leader Diane.Turchetta@dot.gov
Kathy Daniel, Kathy.Daniel@dot.gov
John Davies, JohnG.Davies@dot.gov
Connie Hill Galloway, Connie.Hill@dot.gov
Robert Kafalenos, Robert.Kafalenos@dot.gov
Faiz Khan, Faiz.Khan@dot.gov
Becky Lupes, Rebecca.Lupes@dot.gov

Office of Planning
Robin Smith, Robin.Smith@dot.gov

Office of Project Development & Environmental Review
Shari Schaftlein, Shari.Schaftlein@dot.gov

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(Source: Brookings Institution; The New Republic)

Click image to access the report

The comprehensive report The State of Metropolitan America is a signature effort by Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program portrays the demographic and social trends shaping the nation’s essential economic and societal units—its large metropolitan areas—and discusses what they imply for public policies to secure prosperity for these places and their populations.

The report shows that while Americas still drive to work alone in far greater numbers than any other way, the share of Americans that commute by transit actually increased from 2000 to 2008. That’s the first time that’s happened in 40 years. The map shows that part of the increase is due to big gains metropolitan areas with large transit systems and extensive rail networks such as New York and Washington.

Here is a compilation of the report’s findings on “commuting”:

• Reversing a pair of 40-year trends, the share of Americans that commute by transit increased from 2000 to 2008, while the share of those that drive alone to work fell slightly. However, driving alone remains the method by which fully three-quarters of Americans get to work. Transit usage increased among whites and Asians, while carpooling dropped significantly among blacks and Hispanics.
• Regional differences distinguish metropolitan commuting modes. Commuters drive alone to work in high proportions in mid-sized Midwestern and Southern metro areas like Youngstown and Baton Rouge. Carpooling is most popular in Southern and Western metro areas, including many with large Hispanic populations like Bakersfield and McAllen. Public transit commuting is concentrated in the nine large metro areas that have rates above the metropolitan average (7 percent), including New York, San Francisco, Washington, and Boston.
• Metropolitan areas with large transit systems were not alone in seeing increased transit usage during the 2000s. While metropolitan areas such as New York and Washington with extensive rail networks saw the largest increases in the share of commuters using transit, metro areas that opened light rail lines this decade such as Charlotte and Phoenix saw upticks as well. Others that rely almost exclusively on buses for transit commuting (Colorado Springs, Albuquerque, and Seattle) also experienced notable increases.
• In only 19 of the 100 largest metro areas did more than a quarter of the workforce in 2008 commute by a mode other than driving alone. In only two of those metropolitan areas (New York and San Francisco) did more than a quarter of workers commute other than by car. Carpooling is an important alternative to driving alone in both mid-sized (Honolulu, Stockton) and large (Los Angeles, Seattle) metro areas.
• Residents of cities and older, high-density suburbs are more likely to use transit than commuters elsewhere in metro areas. Suburban transit users have higher incomes than both city transit users and suburbanites overall. Rates of working at home are roughly the same across cities and all types of suburbs, though more common among higher educated workers.

Rob Puentes, one of the authors of this report, observes in his article on the New Republic: It is important to note that while two-third of metros saw increases in commuting by transit during the 2000s, most of these increases were very small. Only four were more than 1 percent and important places like Houston, Memphis, Las Vegas, and Milwaukee saw transit drops. But at the same time, the only decrease in transit use larger than 1 percent was in the New Orleans metro area, due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Click here to access the entire report.

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Yesterday (June 15, 2010), I had the chance to attend “Online Engagement for Sustainable Urban Mobility”, a panel discussion and roundtable organized by EMBARQ, the sustainable transportation arm of the World Resources Institute, at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Part of a week-long citywide festival focused on technology and innovation, the event brought together citizen activists and representatives from government agencies and non-profits to discuss open data, online citizen engagement and collaboration – while looking at the nation’s capital as a case study.  The agenda, as seen on the invitation

How urban transportation can be made more sustainable through:

• Open Data
• Blogging and Citizen Journalism
• Government Transparency and Civic Engagement
• Citizen Collaboration

This was a great forum to share/listen best practices, lessons learned, failure stories and ideas of how to put theory into practice, as it relates to the following over-arching questions: What online tools exist in the D.C. area to make transportation more efficient, user-friendly and sustainable? What are some examples of Web-based innovation and collaboration in the D.C. transport sector? How can government, technology and civil society work together to improve the way we move around – by foot, by car, by bike, and by transit – in the nation’s capital?

The awesome panel consisted of the following individuals:

Moderator: Christian Madera (Columnist, Next American City)
Host: Erica Schlaikjer (Online Engagement Coordinator, EMBARQ)

Panelists:

• Bryan Sivak (Chief Technology Officer, District of Columbia)
• Lance Schine (Chief Information Officer, District Department of Transportation)
• David Alpert (Blogger, Greater Greater Washington)
• Justin Jouvenal (Web Editor, Postlocal.com)
• Nick Grossman (Director of Civic Works, OpenPlans)

Roundtable Discussion Leaders:

• Eric Gundersen (Development Seed)
• Harriet Tregoning (Office of Planning)
• Nat Bottigheimer (WMATA)
• Dan Silverman (Prince of Petworth)
• Zvi Band (FixMyCity DC)
• Philip Ashlock (OpenPlans)

Here are some  interesting observations worth sharing, courtesy of Moderator Christian Madera and fellow participant Kara Hadge, contributing author of New America Foundation’s Sustaining Democracy in a Digital Age blog,  who sat right next to me and offered great input to our discussion group.  For a detailed recap/summary, I seriously recommend you to check out Christian column on Next American City and Kara’s blog post titled Wired Cities .

• While the local city government has been at the forefront of releasing its municipal data for the public and developers to utilize, most of the region’s transportation falls under the jurisdiction of WMATA, the regional transit agency.
• DDOT is involved is now sharing an API for real-time location data for the city’s small fleet of circulator buses, and embarking on the use of QR codes on buses and shelters to assist both passengers and transit managers
• DC Circulator will shortly be launching an Open Data Challenge for developers, featuring three categories: Public Apps (Web and/or Mobile;), Visualization (currently there is no dashboard to monitor what’s happening on all lines), and an unknown internal app to be used by WMATA/DDOT.
• DC Capital Bikeshare #CaBi website  http://capital-bikeshare.appspot.com/ is expected to be launched soon
• DDOT is looking to add (someday) these MIT conceived futurisitic looking, networked, read again – networked, bus stops called Eyestop

In all, it was a great experience meeting and listing to some of the best minds in business about the use of social media tools and emerging opensource efforts in transportation.  Thanks to EMBARQ and the Digital Capital Week community for putting together this event.  I’ll certainly keep you informed of  other resources/products resulting from this event as they become available.

June 22-23, 2010

Washington Dulles Airport Marriott, Dulles, Virginia

Dates: Tuesday-Wednesday, June 22-23, 2010
Times: Tuesday:  1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. & Wednesday:  8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Purpose: The U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, ITS Joint Program Office will hold a two-day workshop to present and discuss its four draft IntelliDrive^SM deployment scenarios that have been recently developed in response to key stakeholder input. The purpose of the meeting is to provide input to the U.S. DOT as it refines IntelliDrive research plans about potential futures paths for IntelliDrive deployment.  Discussion will be framed around four scenarios developed through stakeholder inputs. The workshop will engage participants to identify advantages and disadvantages of each of the draft scenarios and critical policy and institutional research needs.  The Tuesday session will provide an overview of the four draft scenarios. The Wednesday session will consist of break out groups to explore each of the four scenarios in detail as well as a concluding session that summarizes the findings from the workshop.

Draft Agenda: http://www.itsa.org/itsa/files/pdf/Scenario%20Agenda-Rev1.pdf

Intended audience: This workshop is for all interested parties.

Registration: This workshop is free of charge using the ITS America registration process. The registration page can be found athttp://www.itsa.org/itsa/files/pdf/Registrtion%20Form%20Deployment%205-13-10.pdf Please email your completed registration form to Brei Whitty at bwhitty@itsa.org or fax it to 202-484-3483.

Webinar: The Tuesday session will be broadcast live as a webinar for those who are not able to attend in person.  Webinar information TBA.

Hotel Information:
Washington Dulles Airport Marriott
45020 Aviation Drive, Dulles, VA, 20166-7506
Reservations: 1-800-228-9290 or (703) 471-9500

Event Name: Intellidrive
Rate: $139/night + taxes (less than the government rate!)
Please use the code Intellidrive when reserving your room so that you can get the room block rate.  Thank you for reserving your room within the official room block. It helps us meet the hotel contract minimum. The cut-off date to reserve a room is June 1,2010. Please contact Brei Whitty if the room block becomes full.

Contact: Brei Whitty, ITS America, 202-721-4236, bwhitty@itsa.org

(Source: Washington Post)

The iconic American carmaker went bankrupt last year, but its Indian operations have never been busier, evidence of India’s booming economic growth and the rising prosperity of middle classes that are increasingly demanding first-world trappings in one of the fastest-rising countries.

“The new generation wants to hold the steering wheel in their hands,” said Prabhjot Singh, manager of a driving school who said young Indians who used to go to him to learn how to drive scooters are now flooding in to learn how to drive cars.

With rising household wealth, the growth of suburbs and highways and a youthful population, India is the second-fastest-growing market for car sales in the world after China. India’s auto industry reported a 26.4 percent growth in sales in 2009-10, partly because a government stimulus package lowered once sky-high interest rates and made financing easier, according to a study by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

The Indian government also cut manufacturing taxes in late 2008 and early 2009 to protect domestic markets and attract overseas partners. India’s economy continued to grow at 8 percent, second only to China’s.

Part of the secret to India’s success is that it is producing cars that fit the “sweet spot,” or a budget of less than $7,000 for first-time car buyers. While the United States continues building gas-guzzling tanks, India has perfected the “mini-car.” Tata’s famed Nano, the world’s cheapest car, is an extreme example. It costs about $2,000 and sales are reportedly brisk.

With far lower labor costs, GM India is more willing to be innovative. The company recently announced that it will join Reva, India’s electric-car company, to roll out a new vehicle this year.

Click here to read the entire article.

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(Sources: The Inspiration Room & @Kiruba)

Source: Bangalore City Traffic Police via The Inspiration Room

I got this above image, courtesy of friend a (@Kiruba),  which I consider to be a strikingly effective capture that tells the dangers of Distracted Driving.  I was piqued by the creativity of this advertisement campaign by the Bangalore City Traffic Police (in India), and went looking for more details behind this creative effort.

Thanks to Google, I found The Inspiration Room, and got the following details along with a few more gruesome, yet effective pictures from this brilliant campaign.    These images capture the dangers of Distracted Driving, telling the story from the other side of the conversation a.k.a the non-Driver’s point of view.

Source: Bangalore City Traffic Police via The Inspiration Room

Source: Bangalore City Traffic Police via The Inspiration Room

Summary of the Project:

The outdoor advertising campaign uses disturbing photography to shock people out of talking to their friends and families on the phone while they are driving. Men and women are shown grimacing as blood spurts out from their telephones. The tag line: “Don’t talk while he drives. ”  IMHO, this is probably one of the best advertisement campaigns EVER devised to combat Distracted Driving, and ranks way up there along with the  famous British PSA video on dangers of Texting While Driving.

The Creative Team:

Developed at Mudra Group, India, by executive creative director Joono Simon, art director Vinci Raj, copywriter Akhilesh Bagri, photographer Mallikarjun Katakol, with retouching by Sathish.

Early Registration deadline extended to April 30!

This conference brings together more than a dozen TRB Energy and Environmental committees meeting jointly with the AASHTO Standing Committee on the Environment and serves as a platform to develop better transportation solutions through the integration of diverse environmental (human and natural) and transportation perspectives.

Join nationally recognized experts in transportation along with forward-thinking professionals in environmental, planning, community and economic analysis, environmental justice, land use, sustainability, climate change, and transportation fields in a frank and open discussion aimed at sharing experiences, examining the realities of major complex issues, and developing common sense approaches to environmental and transportation challenges.

A preconference workshop on Sunday, June 6, will provide participants with the opportunity to identify critical environmental research needs.

The Conference will be held at the Raleigh Convention Center, a beautiful new facility, centrally located in downtown Raleigh, NC.

Registration

• Early Registration has been extended!
• The conference registration fee of $350 will be in effect until April 30.
• After April 30, the fee will increase to $425.  Conference Participants should register now to save!

Conference Hotel

• A block of rooms will be reserved at the new Raleigh Marriott Hotel City-Center adjacent to the convention center. A conference rate of $92/night plus tax has been established but you must reserve your room by May 8, 2010.

Be a Sponsor

• Overall conference sponsorship provides significant opportunities for relationship building among agency, university, corporate, and non-governmental professionals. Let participants know who you are by getting your information prominently displayed. Find out how you can be a sponsor!

Click here to access the event website for preliminary program and other event related details.