We all know our “developed” societies have way too many cars and often choke up our streets and take up valuable space, resulting in terrible congestion and chronic bottle necks.. If a lot of people chose to leave behind their cars and instead opt for public transportation, it will be a perfect anti-dote for the chronic congestion that plagues our streets. So, how do you tell this story effectively? Here is one way to do it.. I call this the mother of all sustainable transportation images (courtesy of The Atlantic)

Let me tell ya.. The amount of road space saved when a few dozen people switch from driving cars to riding the public transport is ENORMOUS.

via Jalopnik

Chanced up upon this awesome video on /Drive’s YouTube channel, with some of my favorite automotive writers (Travis Okulski and Mike Spinelli of Jalopnik with Andrew DelColle from Popular Mechanics) talking about the nagging questions many of us have about autonomous vehicles. I’d say that this video  is more like a e-Primer for all things on autonomous vehicles for those interested (and some more) but offered in a nice, and conversant package without getting you all bored. Check it out.

Video description: When are the first self-driving cars coming, how will they work and — the most important question — will I be able to take a nap in traffic? All of those questions and more will be answered. With Andrew Del-Colle, associate editor of Popular Mechanics magazine and Travis Okulski, senior writer at Jalopnik.

Related resources

• Read The 12 Most Important Questions About Self-Driving Cars” (Popular Mechanics)
• Self-Driving Cars on Reddit

This is a Pathways Recent Graduate position. The Volpe Center’s Recent Graduates Program affords developmental experiences to individuals who have recently graduated from qualifying educational institutions or programs. The employee performs a range of Technology Policy Analyst duties that are designed to enhance his/her professional knowledge as a Technology Policy Analyst.  This is a one year appointment in the excepted service which may lead, at the agency’s discretion, to a time-limited or permanent appointment in the competitive service.  The full performance level of this position is GS-12.

The employee’s primary duty is to participate as a member of a team that conducts research and applies analytical methodologies on a broad set of topics as a means of developing, comparing, and evaluating policy options in support of successful transition of technologies (e.g., connected vehicles, automated vehicles, new transportation applications, or vehicle-to-infrastructure communications, among others) from research into adoption and use.

The ideal candidate for this position has (or is within receiving a degree by end of August 2013), in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position.  In addition to courses in the major and related fields, a typical college degree would have included courses that involved analysis, writing, critical thinking, research, etc. These courses would have provided an applicant with skills and abilities sufficient to perform progressively more responsible work in the occupation.

THIS VACANCY IS LIMITED TO THE FIRST 150 APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AND WILL CLOSE AT MIDNIGHT ON THE CLOSING DATE OR MIDNIGHT ON THE DAY THE 150^TH APPLICATION IS RECEIVED, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST.

This is an Excepted Service appointment.  You may be converted, without a break in service, to a term (time-limited), career, or career-conditional (permanent) appointment upon completion of program requirements without further competition, but there is no guarantee.  The selectee is in a trial period while on the Pathways Recent Graduates Program appointment.  If you are invited to interview, you will be asked to submit writing samples prior to your interview.

This announcement may be used to fill positions beginning the Summer of 2013.  Relocation is not offered with the position.

The starting salary is as follows:  GS-9, step 1:  $51,871 per year

Click here to learn more and to apply

About: An innovative, fee-for service organization, the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT‘s) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is an internationally recognized Federal center of transportation innovation with a world-class, multidisciplinary technical team with expertise across all modes of transportation.  RITA coordinates the U.S. DOT’s research programs and is charged with advancing the deployment of cross-cutting technologies to improve our Nation’s transportation system.

Related articles

• Job Alert: Transportation Specialist, Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) – USDOT @ Oklahoma City, OK

Source: Imgur

A bit of background: This image is part of a safety campaign by Canadian provincial agency Societe de l’assurance automobile (SAAQ) urging people to wear seat belts in the car. SAAQ (whose translation in English roughly equates to Quebec Automobile Insurance Corporation) developed a set of  posters,including the one below, for displaying in bars and restaurants from August 27 to September 23, 2012..

Very clever driving safety ad.. Source: Imgur via Reddit

Click here to see the other posters in this campaign.

Image courtesy: CarScoops.com

This neat infograph landed in my inbox today.. It offers an interesting roundup of headlight regulations/requirements for states across the U.S.  If you are planning a road trip across the country at some point in time, you might as well add this to your list of driving tools.

Image Courtesy: Nissan via CarScoops

The EISENHOWER GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP (GRAD) provides funding for Students pursuing Master’s Degrees or Doctorates in transportation related fields. The program objectives are:

1. to attract the nation’s brightest minds to the field of transportation,
2. to enhance the careers of transportation professionals by encouraging them to seek advanced degrees, and
3. to retain top talent in the transportation industry of the United States.

The Program is intended to bring innovation and enhance the breadth and scope of knowledge of the entire transportation community in the United States. The Eisenhower Graduate Fellowship Program encompasses all modes of transportation.

DISCIPLINES

The Department of Transportation encourages students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) to apply for the Eisenhower Graduate Transportation Fellowships.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Eisenhower Graduate Fellowship Applicants must:

• Possess an earned baccalaureate degree or be a confirmed graduating senior;
• Be enrolled full time in an accredited U.S. institution of higher education no later than the Fall 2013 academic year
• Be pursuing a degree in a full-time program in a transportation-related discipline
• Have at least one full academic year remaining in program of study;
• Conduct ongoing research in one or more transportation-related disciplines; and
• Plan to enter the transportation profession after completing their higher level education.

Non-U.S. citizens must attach a certified copy of their I-20 or I-551 ID issued by the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service (CIS).

SELECTION

Applications will be evaluated by the Eisenhower National Selection Panel. This National Selection Panel will be composed of prominent national transportation professionals, including academia and the public sector, who will review, rate and rank each applicant. The panel’s recommendations for selection will be forwarded to the Program Manager, Universities and Grants Programs. The Program Manager will make final selections.It is imperative that applicants provide an accurate and current email address for themselves and their faculty advisor. Applicants will be notified of their status via email.

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION

The Eisenhower Graduate Fellowship will be awarded on the basis of merit. Merit includes:

• Class standing, GPA, and official university transcripts; (25 Points)
• Potential for Outstanding Career in Transportation (Transportation work experience, if applicable); (25 Points)
• Proposed plan of study (25 Points)
• Letters of recommendation regarding the applicant’s qualifications; (20 Points)
• Overall quality of Application (5 Points)

STIPEND, TUITION AND TAXES

All recipients may not receive a full award (i.e. tuition, stipend, and travel to Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting). Recipient awards will be based on the rankings from the National Selection Panel. Recipients of this fellowship will receive a minimum of $5,000.00, based on their ranking from the National Selection Panel and the availability of funding.

Fellowship recipients should be advised that the stipend portion of the fellowship is subject to taxation in accordance with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations (Publication 970, revised 2011).

The stipends for the Eisenhower Graduate Fellowship are as follows:

• Master’s Level – $1,700/mo.
• Doctoral Level – $2,000/mo.

Note: Actual Stipend level may vary based upon available funding. Stipends are capped at $1,700 for Masters students and $2,000 a month for Doctoral students from Eisenhower funding. Additional stipend amounts may be added by the University or other sources.

SCHEDULE

All applications and supporting material (official transcripts and letters of recommendation) for Eisenhower Graduate Transportation Fellowship must be received by 5:00 p.m. Monday, April 1, 2013.Applications should be sent to the address in the section entitled “How to Apply”.

Click here to learn more about the details and for applying instructions.

Related articles

• Eisenhower Transportation Fellowships for Graduate Students (deadline April 1)

Source: Center for American Progress

Amidst all the exhaustive and bitter political battles that rage day after day over the weak fiscal health of the nation, there are so many little things that slip away from the attention of tax paying public. And here is one such that I happened upon via twitter.

Guess what?

Just by eliminating a tax loophole that gives special treatment to corporate jets, for example—at a cost to taxpayers of $3.2 billion over 10 years – Congress could avert cuts that would cost thousands of jobs, hurt millions of disadvantaged students, and force hundreds of thousands of vulnerable families to lose critical nutrition and housing supports this year.

Information nuggets such as this make me wonder why our Politicians find it so difficult to act to avert painful cuts (in $$ that eventually affect middle and lower-income families) by taking a more balanced approach to deficit reduction.  Corporations are people too?  Not really (but the highest court in this land says otherwise). As CAP notes, “Unless Congress acts, on March 1 automatic and indiscriminate spending cuts will hit key programs, costing our economy more than 1 million jobs and cutting essential services for millions of low- and middle-income families.” That leaves me with this question: Will the politicians be rational for a change and do the right thing for the country? Or, will they continue to squabble and be addicted to doing their habitual partisan battles?  Time will tell. Sigh!

This one is for the gearheads and motorcycle (apparel) historians..

Infographic by Bennetts

Reconnecting America is a national nonprofit organization that helps transform promising ideas into thriving communities, where transportation choices make it easy to get from place to place, where businesses flourish, and where people from all walks of life can afford to live, work and visit.  We accomplish these goals by advising civic and community leaders on how to overcome community development challenges to create better communities for all.

We also develop research and innovative public policy, while building on-the-ground partnerships and convening the players needed to accelerate decision-making. Reconnecting America engages in an integrated set of activities to support our efforts including technical assistance with a broad set of stakeholders in regions big and small across the country, policy reform at the federal, state and local levels and education activities to build capacity among the range of stakeholders ultimately responsible for building stronger and more equitable communities.

Reconnecting America is the managing partner in the Center for Transit-Oriented Development (CTOD), the only national nonprofit effort funded by Congress to promote best practices in transit-oriented development.  For more information visit our website, www.reconnectingamerica.org

Position Overview

Reconnecting America is looking for a motivated, self-guided individual with knowledge, experience, and interest in transit-oriented development, affordable housing, community development and transportation and an interest in helping to develop materials for our policy and education programs. The intern will work on a variety of projects that may include:

• Conducting research on the integration of housing and transit in small and midsize cities.
• Creating project sheets and case studies on various topics related to transit-oriented development, transportation, and affordable housing policy.
• Reviewing and preparing budget analysis of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Department of Transportation annual budget requests.
• Supporting staff with graphic representation and editing information in Adobe illustrator and PowerPoint formats.
• Conducting research on local, regional, state and federal transit-oriented development policies.
• Supporting staff with federal level policy advocacy for transportation and sustainable communities.
• Updating content on the Mixed-Income TOD Action Guide (www.mitod.org), an online tool developed for the Federal Transit Administration.
• Preparing presentation materials and assisting with logistics for RA projects.
• Possible short-term, targeted research and/or analysis projects. Also, occasional minor administrative tasks.

Qualifications:

• A Bachelors degree and at least a year of graduate work in city planning, geography, architecture, transportation, public policy, or other related field
• Excellent research, writing and analytical skills
• Comfort using Excel and PowerPoint are essential. Experience with Illustrator, Photoshop, Access, or ArcGIS would be a plus
• An understanding of transit-oriented development principles and strategies and/ or principles related to sustainable communities (health, affordable housing, transportation etc.)
• Self-directed, resourceful, and results-oriented
• Excellent interpersonal and collaboration skills. Ability to work productively, professionally and respectfully with coworkers and outside partners
• Motivated, enthusiastic and committed to the organization’s mission

The position is paid, part-time (15-20 hours/week) and available starting in early to mid-March. Position will be filled from March to August 2013, possibly beyond. Hourly wage is commensurate with experience.

Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume no later than March 1, 2013 to Sasha Forbes, gsforbes@reconnectingamerica.org. In the subject line write: RA SPRING INTERN. No phone calls, please.

For more information about Reconnecting America please visit our website: www.reconnectingamerica.org.

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