On Sept. 10-12  the Northwestern University Transportation Center will again offer its Infrastructure Pricing Executive Program – this year focusing on Highway Infrastructure Pricing.

Don’t miss the opportunity to participate in this highly relevant and timely program aimed at transportation professionals who manage private and public fee paying facilities; engineers and project managers who oversee maintenance and new construction; and consultants and advisors to infrastructure providers and those who finance infrastructure projects.

Topics to be covered will include dynamic and congestion pricing, demand forecasting, private/public partnerships, infrastructure investments decision-making based on projected revenues, network demand prediction tools and more.

20% Discount for Government and Academic Registrations; Early Bird rate available until Aug. 17^th.

Please contact Ms. Diana Marek if you have any questions.

For more information and to Register see:  Pricing Highway Infrastructure Executive Program

(Via YPT Voice)

IRF is pleased to announce the 2012 IRF Student Essay Competition. This competition, open to all students attending an IRF Member university in good-standing, has a $500 cash award for the winning essays. Thanks to input from various IRF Member organizations, we have structured this year’s program to generate maximize participation by IRF member universities and their students. Specifically, IRF is providing several topics within each of the competition categories for the essay competition. Participants may choose any topic within any category for their essays, or professors may wish to limit the topics based on their particular curriculum.

English: IRF logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Topics include:

• Road Safety
• Innovations in Finance
• Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
• Sustainable Roads
• Pavement Technology, Management, and Maintenance

Click here for more information on the competition and eligible topics:  2012Topics

All papers must be submitted online at https://irf.wufoo.com/forms/w7w4p7/and be received by 5:00 p.m. (EST), October 31, 2012.  We look forward to strong participation by all of IRF’s valued university members this year! If you have any questions about the competition, please contact Kathy Mejasich at +1 703 535 1001 / kmejasich@irfnews.org. Thank you for your support!

The Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) seeks two Highway Safety Specialists (Instructor) to join the Highway Safety Division at the Transportation Safety Institute (TSI). RITA coordinates the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) research programs and is charged with advancing rigorous analysis and the deployment of cross-cutting technologies to improve our Nation’s transportation system. TSI provides premier worldwide training, products and/or services for people in the public and private sectors through innovative, state-of-the-art methods and technologies that contribute to the protection of life, property, and the environment. The TSI training center is located in Oklahoma City, OK at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC), a Federal Aviation Administration training and materials facility. Visit www.tsi.dot.gov to learn more. The position is located in Oklahoma City, OK.

As a Highway Safety Specialist (Instructor), you will be a principal specialist in highway traffic safety in the Highway Safety Division. You will conduct, administer, and evaluate courses and seminars in all facets of highway/traffic safety. The Division provides a variety of transportation safety related courses to Federal, State and private industry audiences.

The ideal candidate is a mid-career or experienced professional with expert knowledge in the areas of highway/traffic safety, and knowledge and skill in developing, delivering, and evaluating training programs related to highway/traffic safety programs and projects to Federal, State and Local government staff as well as industry personnel. In addition, the ideal candidate has knowledge and skill in the application of regulatory programs, managerial capabilities, and classroom teaching.

This announcement is open to the general public and under merit promotion for current or former Federal employees and people eligible under special hiring authorities. Please note that merit promotion announcements are the vehicle through which Federal employees generally apply for Federal positions.

Application deadline: Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Merit Promotion Announcement (RITA.TSI-2012-0009): http://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/320945200

Public Announcement (RITA.TSI-2012-0010): http://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/320949000

If you or someone you know has the experience and proven results, I encourage you or them to apply. We are looking for a diverse pool of qualified candidates. Please contact Eric Falzone at eric.falzone@dot.gov or 617-494-2418 if you have any questions.

The U.S. DOT’s ITS Professional Capacity Building Program, in the ITS Joint Program Office, partners with training providers and industry associations to develop and deliver ITS-related training.  This email provides an update on several training opportunities from the Consortium for ITS Training and Education:

Consortium for ITS Training and Education (CITE)

Improve your skills and become more resourceful via CITE’s upcoming blended course offerings; includes discussion board forums which provides students with a strong sense of community.  Each course runs approximately 6-8 weeks.

Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS) Equipment and Operations – (June 22 through July 31, 2012) http://www.citeconsortium.org/courses/RWIS-blended.html

Adverse weather is our common enemy in road maintenance, traffic, and emergency operations. Transportation agencies are well aware of the operational and logistical challenges of such weather. Many agencies are fighting this age-old battle by implementing Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS). The goal of this course is not only to discuss RWIS initiatives and considerations but also explore individual state and local deployment challenges through workshops, exercises, and self-assessments, which will leave participants with an action plan tailored for their specific needs.

Principles and Tools of Road Weather Management – (September through October, 2012) http://www.citeconsortium.org/courses/RoadWeatherMgmt_Blended.html

Through this course, participants are exposed to various strategies for addressing road weather problems, including Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS) and the development of crosscutting decision support systems to respond effectively to weather situations. This course is part of the Specialized Learning Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) curriculum established by the ITS Professional Capacity Building (PCB) program.

Weather Responsive Traffic Management (WRTM) * New (October through December, 2012) http://www.citeconsortium.org/courses/WRTM-blended.html

This course provides information and guidance to transportation system managers and operators to help them effectively manage traffic flow and operations during adverse weather conditions. At the end of the course, participants will understand the WRTM concepts framework strategies and be able to describe the types of data, analysis tools, and performance monitoring necessary to effectively manage traffic during weather events.

If you are interested in taking either of these courses, please contact Denise Twisdale (301-403-4592) or Kathy Frankle (410-414-2925).  All course materials are on-line but students have access to course instructors through three pre-scheduled conference calls.  Cost is $250 each, $550 for all three (3); free for state, local and Federal employees (sponsor code F2012).  Register today; don’t delay! http://www.citeconsortium.org/registration.html

via Mashable.com

Who knew middle schoolers are this bad.. A bunch of 12-15yr old kids harassed a 69-yr old bus monitor in Greece, NY and somehow the video tape made its way to the interwebs.. Like in many cases, the activist hive minds on the web have kicked off a campaign to raise funds to send this poor old lady on a vacation and also start planning actively on how to get the kids repent their action.. The following Story, curated by Ben Doernberg documents the incident and the outpouring of support from the internet and the media. It will be interesting to see how this story ends – I somehow think it will be safe to assume there will be some suspensions involved when it is all said and done.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s ITS Professional Capacity Building Program (ITS PCB) is offering free online ITS standards training. The 18-module series is aimed at practitioners in state and local highway agencies and transit agencies who seek the skills needed to procure, implement, and operate ITS standards-based devices and equipment. Consultants, system designers and integrators, and system testers will also find the training informative and are welcome to view the modules. Modules are FREE and can be viewed anytime on the ITS PCB website: http://www.pcb.its.dot.gov/standardstraining.

Training Modules

The Thai government now has a serious problem and should jump in immediately before the country’s image takes a further in the minds of the foreign visitors. Hate it when the police are corrupt like this..

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsPuoaktoAw’]

(Source: Newsilike)

This neat infograph showcases the progress and milestones achieved in Motorcycle safety in Britain over the years..  and today I learned that Motorcycles are excluded from London’s congestion charging..

The Evolution of Motorcycle Safety via Bennetts- image courtesy: NewsiLike.com