(Sources contributing to this hybrid report:  CNET; Ars Technica; LifeHacker; eweek-Google Watch)

In the movie business, the  blockbusters are often reserved for the summer months.  Just like the movie-makers, the Googlers are making it a habit to unveil some of their coolest products over the summer months and this year is no exception (as if they are not doing anything cool during the rest of the year).

The Google Maps team has been on quite the tear this summer, enriching its platform and beefing up location-based services, such as Google Latitude. In just the past two months, the search and Web services giant has offered multiple searches for one search destination session, shown users how to get Google Maps on Web sites, and offered a Street View tutorial.  Now they are at it again – this time with another awesome feature: live traffic updates for arterial roads in addition to the data it already offers up for major highways.

Google Maps is adding traffic data for side streets starting today, which combined with a the data it already offers up for major highways makes it a “must-have” tool for all roadwarriors. Major “arterial” roads, such as state highways or prominent boulevards in cities, will now have their own color-coded traffic information in Google Maps, giving drivers the option of selecting an alternate route based on current traffic conditions.

Image Courtesy: LifeHacker

So how is Google expanding its traffic reports to side streets? If you’re using Google Maps on your smartphone (with the notable exception of the iPhone, which doesn’t support the feature, according to Google) you’re automatically sending speed data back to Google wherever you go.

The trigger is the “My Location” button in Google Maps, which automatically signs you up for the traffic crowdsourcing program when that button is pressed. In addition, Palm Pre and MyTouch 3G users are automatically enrolled in the traffic crowdsourcing program.

You can opt out of the program, but at the expense of the My Location feature. Hit the “My Location” button again to figure out where you are in an unfamiliar city, and you’re automatically re-enrolled in the program.

Traffic data has been available on major highways for years through Google Maps, but that data is collected from road sensors and private car fleets and is also available to dozens of third-party traffic providers. The number of people using GPS-enabled smartphones with Google Maps installed has dramatically increased since 2007, and many of them may not know that by using the My Location feature, they’re also participating in a traffic-related survey.

Image Courtesy: Google Watch (Eweek) - Traffic conditions snapshot around Microsoft headquarters, Seattle

This is a fantastic feature (assuming you don’t mind the anonymous usage statistics going to Google), and one that’s actually available in some GPS devices already. The drawback on some devices—the iPhone, for example—is that you’d need to use Google Maps in place of another GPS application, and since the iPhone now features turn-by-turn GPS navigation applications, it’s a bit of a sacrifice. Still, if Google were to go the extra mile and turn Google Maps into a turn-by-turn GPS app (something that seems well within reason, considering how much map data they’ve already got), then they’d really be on to something that a lot of us would potentially use.

Not only can you get live traffic updates, Google Maps lets you select options for viewing the average traffic patterns on a specific day and time. Say you’re taking a road trip and you’re leaving on Thursday at 5pm—you can now look up the traffic in advance for planning purposes (see image below to the right).

Image Courtesy: Ars Technica

In addition to the arterial road information, Google has also begun using crowdsourced data for traffic information. If you use Google Maps for mobile with GPS enabled, you can choose to allow Google Maps to send regular updates (anonymously, of course) about where you are and how fast you’re moving.

“When we combine your speed with the speed of other phones on the road, across thousands of phones moving around a city at any given time, we can get a pretty good picture of live traffic conditions,” wrote Google. “We continuously combine this data and send it back to you for free in the Google Maps traffic layers.”

Google assures users that they only use anonymous speed and location information to calculate traffic conditions, and only do so when the user has opted to enable location services on his or her phone.

The problem with the location-based services is that it affects a skittishness in people. Concepts like location-based services that send “bits of data back to Google” tend to make people nervous. Electronic Frontier Foundation has a great report on the intersection of location services and privacy.

“We understand that many people would be concerned about telling the world how fast their car was moving if they also had to tell the world where they were going, so we built privacy protections in from the start,” wrote Dave Barth, product manager for Google Maps. “We only use anonymous speed and location information to calculate traffic conditions, and only do so when you have chosen to enable location services on your phone.”

Click here to read the entire article.

Contributing Sources: CNN Money; Jalopnik ; LA Times & Autoblog Green)

This post is sponsored by LemonFree.com

Finito!  Finished! Over! Gone! Done! End of the Road! Swan Song!  Whatever the buzz word you would like to use for marking the end of the “successful” Cash for Clunkers Program, please feel free to do so.  Many buyers made it out of the dealers with a sigh of relief while many dealers are still left wringing their hands over the delays in the Government’s administrative machine that processes the vouchers.

Amdist all this madness and hype surrounding the C4C,  for many of us in the transportation business might take a couple of days (or even weeks) to understand the full impact of the program’s final days.  Hopefully it is all good.  In the meanwhile,  TransportGooru went looking for the statistics on how the programs as well as the vehicles tallied up so far and found it for you from the reliable sources in our Automotive web reporting sphere (including Autoblog, Jalopnik, etc).

The ever popular Website, Jalopnik reports that as of Friday morning the number of transactions submitted numbered 489,269 with a dollar value of $2.04 billion. This morning the number reached 635,186 transactions with a dollar value of $2.65 million.  So far (as of 7:47 AM August 24, 2009) the number of vehicles purchased have overwhelmingly been passenger cars (283,104) and category 1 trucks (166,686), with just a few category 2 (31,862) and category 3 (1,300) trucks. On the other end, the majority of vehicles turned in are category 1 trucks (318,249) and category 2 trucks (81,599) with just 78,265 passenger cars. Was there a surge of sales over the weekend? How successful has the program been?  Once the deadline has passed, it’ll be interesting to see where the final MPG improvements and rankings of purchased and clunked cars end up. Shouldn’t have to wait long.

It would be hard to have a popular program without any drama, right?  The New York Times reports that auto dealers swimming in applications for the “Cash for Clunkers” program now have a little extra time to fill out those forms.   The Web site that dealers use to submit rebate applications crashed this afternoon, the Department of Transportation said. As a result, dealers can file for rebates until noon on Tuesday, though the deadline for sales is still 8 p.m. Monday. Car shoppers flooded sales lots this weekend after the announcement Thursday that the program was ending.

The Transportation Department said that despite a large increase in the system’s capacity, the website was down temporarily Monday. By then, dealers had submitted 625,000 applications worth more than $2.5 billion.

The department’s website, which has had problems throughout the program’s short life, was down for at least six hours Monday amid a last-minute rush to submit rebate applications, said Bailey Wood, a spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Assn.

Glitches aside, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood spent Monday taking a victory lap.   “This program has been a lifeline to dealers,” Mr. LaHood said in Norristown, Pa. “It’s been a lifeline to the scrapyards who are getting these cars and can sell water pumps, and batteries and other parts. It’s also been a lifeline to the credit unions and banks processing all these loans. It’s been a win-win-win all around.”

AutoNation (AN, Fortune 500), the country’s largest dealership chain, stopped doing Cash for Clunker transactions after Friday. AutoNation had completed over 12,000 deals, according to spokesman Mark Cannon.

“It’s been a great run,” Cannon said.

Under Clunkers, which launched July 27, vehicles purchased after July 1 are eligible for refund vouchers worth $3,500 to $4,500 on traded-in cars with a fuel economy rating of 18 miles per gallon or less.

here is an updated list of traded-in and purchased cars  (curtesy of our friends at Jalopnik).

Top 10 New Vehicles Purchased

1. Toyota Corolla
2. Honda Civic
3. Ford Focus FWD
4. Toyota Camry
5. Hyundai Elantra
6. Toyota Prius
7. Nissan Versa
8. Ford Escape FWD
9. Honda Fit
10. Honda CR-V 4WD

Top 10 Trade-In Vehicles
1. Ford Explorer 4WD
2. Ford F150 Pickup 2WD
3. Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD
4. Jeep Cherokee 4WD
5. Ford Explorer 2WD
6. Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan 2WD
7. Chevrolet Blazer 4WD
8. Ford F150 Pickup 4WD
9. Chevrolet C1500 Pickup 2WD
10. Ford Windstar FWD Van

This list is subject to change as the final numbers come in.  So stay tuned for further updates.

(Source: USA Today)

A marked decrease in airline travel has made this summer the smoothest in years for fliers accustomed to lengthy delays and snarled traffic.  Overall, it has been a remarkably pleasant summer season for air travelers, who had gotten used to big delays this time of year.

The aviation system is suffering significantly fewer delays than the past two years, according to government data and aviation experts. The lengthiest delays — which cause people to miss connecting flights and trigger the most havoc — are down even more steeply. In May, June and July, delays longer than two hours dropped by more than 25% compared with 2008 and 2007, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The nation’s aviation system is still far from immune to thunderstorms, congestion and unexpected problems: Several jets in recent months were stranded on the ground for hours, prompting angry complaints by passengers. New York’s three airports, which remain more clogged than average, continue to drag down performance across the country, the data show.

Overall, traffic at large airports is down 9% this year compared with last, according to the FAA. Airline restructuring in recent years has been so drastic that airports such as Pittsburgh and St. Louis have seen traffic drop by as much as two-thirds, turning them into veritable airport ghost towns amid the economic downturn. Here are some interesting highlights from the USA Today article.

• There has also been a 9 percent decreaes in overall traffic at large airports, thanks to the high prices of fuel last year and the economic downturn. That trend is expected to continue through Labor Day, when approximately 3.5 percent fewer people are expected to fly compared to last year.
• Cincinnati, which had more than 500,000 arrivals and departures in 2003, is on pace for fewer than 200,000 this year.
• Of the nation’s busiest 31 airports, only two have not improved through June this year compared with a year earlier, according to the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International, one of the few airports that has not seen a significant decline in flights, and Newark Liberty International, plagued by that region’s congestion, saw slight increases in delays, according to the data.
• The biggest improvement in on-time performance occurred at O’Hare. Last year through June, only 61% of flights arrived on time at O’Hare. This year, 78% arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival times.

Click here to read the entire article.

The Australian Intelligent Transport Systems Summit 2009 (ITS 09) will showcase the latest in transport technology in Australia together with new innovations from around the world. In addition to the Summit being a fantastic opportunity to learn from leading experts and discover new ideas, the program will also provide delegates the unique opportunity to be part of discussions and decision-making to take ITS for Australia into the next generation.

Road safety, congestion and sustainability are just some of the challenges facing, transport networks around Australia (and the world). Meeting these challenges requires close consultation from all state and federal governments, as well as the systematic implementation of intelligent transport systems technology (ITS).

ITS technology helps our transport and road users to utilise infrastructure more effectively and efficiently. It is the link that will help all state, territory and federal governments meet their transport challenges. This was the pre cursor in establishing Australia’s first ITS Summit. Improving road and rail safety.

• Speakers that will present case studies on local and international developments in ITS and innovative applications of ITS
• Panel discussions and debates on appropriate directions, policy development and actions
• Facilitated workshops and/or working group sessions

Themes:

• Improving road network management
• Providing better travel and traveller information
• Improving public transport operation
• Facilitating a more efficient freight industry
• Reducing environmental impacts
• Improving security, safety and emergency planning

The program will include:

• Speakers that will present case studies on local and international developments in ITS and innovative applications of ITS
• Panel discussions and debates on appropriate directions, policy development and actions
• Facilitated workshops and/or working group sessions

Click here to learn more about the ITS Summit 2009

(Source: BBC, TMC Net, US Infrastructure)

For the first time in more than a quarter-century, a new space vehicle stands ready in NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building. The Ares I-X rocket, its simulated crew module and launch abort system are assembled on a mobile launch platform at Kennedy in preparation for launch this fall.  Ares I rocket is a key component of Nasa’s next-generation space transportation system.

Image Courtesy: NASA

“More than three years of hard work with the NASA and contractor team has brought us to this historic moment,” said Bob Ess, Ares I-X mission manager. “This flight test is a critical step in continuing our design process for the Ares vehicle and the first flight for the Constellation Program.” The Ares I-X is wired with more than 700 sensors to gather data during the two-and-a-half minute flight test. The launch will provide NASA an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I crew launch vehicle. The data collected during the launch will allow NASA to gather critical data during ascent of the integrated Orion spacecraft and the Ares I rocket.

The Ares I rocket will be used to launch the Orion capsule, the next man-controlled space craft destined to take over from the Space Shuttle.

The craft was finished a few days ago with the final elements being constructed on the 13 August; them being the stacking of the simulated crew module and launch abort system on the mobile launcher platform. Below is the presser from NASA on this topic (courtesy of PRnewswire.com).

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Aug. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — For the first time in more than a quarter-century a new space vehicle stands ready in NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building. The Ares I-X rocket, its simulated crew module and launch abort system are assembled on a mobile launch platform at Kennedy in preparation for launch this fall.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO)

The final segments of the Ares I-X were stacked on Aug. 13, completing the 327-foot launch vehicle and providing the first look at the finished rocket’s distinctive shape. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 31.

“More than three years of hard work with the NASA and contractor team has brought us to this historic moment,” said Bob Ess, Ares I-X mission manager. “This flight test is a critical step in continuing our design process for the Ares vehicle and the first flight for the Constellation Program.”

The Ares I-X is wired with more than 700 sensors to gather data during the two-and-a-half minute flight test. The launch will provide NASA an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I crew launch vehicle. The data collected during the launch will allow NASA to gather critical data during ascent of the integrated Orion spacecraft and the Ares I rocket.

Now that the Ares I-X is assembled, numerous evaluations will be run on all the rocket systems, including complex instruments that will constantly measure the vehicle’s movements as it launches and the first stage separates. The evaluations include a process called “modal testing,” which will shake the stack slightly to test stiffness of the rocket, including the pinned and bolted joints.

Video B-roll of the Ares I-X will be available on NASA Television’s Video File feed. For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

To follow Ares I-X processing on Twitter, visit:

http://twitter.com/NASA_Ares_I_X

For more information about the Ares I-X and NASA’s next-generation spacecraft, visit.

http://www.nasa.gov/ares

(Source: PR NewsWire)

NAVTEQ, the leading global provider of navigation services, has released some interesting findings after analyzing research data from several proprietary studies.  The findings point to key differences between the male versus female audience for navigation.

The results offer important insights into each group’s interest and interaction with navigation across different types of devices.

1. The female audience is equally aware of and attracted to the use of navigation, but they get their information in advance of a purchase from different sources than men.
2. Women are also having a very different experience after the purchase with their device. A much higher proportion are not taking advantage of advanced features such as POI search and Traffic, and thus not surprisingly, the satisfaction they report with their systems is dramatically lower than men.

Specific highlights from the analysis include:

• Familiarity with navigation among both women and men tops 90%, but unlike their male counterparts who rely more on information from media sources, word of mouth is the main source of awareness for women (41% for women; 26% for men)
• If purchasing a PND, the highest percentage of men buy at consumer electronics stores (34%), while a higher proportion of women buy online (26% of women) or at a grocery (8% of women)
• Women use features such as POI search and Traffic dramatically less than men; 15% of women “never” use POI search (versus 2% of men) and 39% never use Traffic features (versus 10% of men)
• 80% of men state that they are “extremely” or “very” satisfied with their navigation system; only 60% of women make that same statement

The results are based on analysis of six separate proprietary studies conducted by NAVTEQ in 2008. In each case, the sample sizes were substantial enough to allow for an examination of the findings based on gender. This is one of several announcements made by NAVTEQ this year on learning from the company’s proprietary research efforts, following previous reports regarding the positive impact of navigation on fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions as well as consumer learning on the desire for reminders on regular map updates.

Click here to read the entire press release.

(Source: Wired, CNET & Consumer Reports)

Images Courtesy: Apture

Volvo made history — and the world a far safer place — 50 years ago today when it delivered the world’s first car with standard three-point safety belts.

And it all started with a Volvo PV544 delivered to a dealership in the town of Kristianstad, Sweden.  The three-point belt was invented by Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin, who was looking for a better way of keeping people secure in a collision.

Before the three-point belt, there was the basic lap belt. This two-point design did a good job of keeping passengers in their seats during a collision, but it failed to evenly disperse crash forces resulting in a bruised forehead or–at high speeds–a possible fractured pelvis.

The three-point design, developed by Volvo, a company fanatical about safety and engineer Nils Bohlin, more evenly spread impact forces across the passenger’s torso and helped to keep the upper body in place.  Bohlin, a former aviation engineer at Saab who worked on airplane catapult seats, came up with an ingenious solution that combined a lap belt with a diagonal belt across the chest. He anchored the straps low beside the seat so the geometry of the belts formed a “V” with the point directed at the floor.  The design was created to help absorb the force on the pelvis and chest, while keeping the belt in position and not moving under the load.

Even after 50 years of automotive safety innovation, the three-point safety belt remains the most effective protection for occupants in the event of a collision. The belt reduces the risk of fatalities and serious injuries from collisions by about 50 percent. A design as obvious as it is intelligent, the three-point belt is perfectly suited to the seat occupant’s body. It is the safety belt’s ability to keep the occupant in the seat that is of crucial importance.

We take them for granted nowadays, but the three-point belt was revolutionary when it appeared on Aug. 13, 1959. In the years since, the V-shaped safety belt has saved well over a million lives. It has been called one of the most significant inventions of the 20th century, and it remains the most widely used safety innovation in automotive history. Every single car sold today uses three-point belts.  Here are some facts dug from various sources on the internet, which I thought are very interesting:

• In 1963, Volvo introduced the three-point belt in the United States after performing a number of crash tests that validated their claims that it offered the best protection to occupants. In 1967, the Swedish automaker presented data from collisions in Volvo cars over a one-year period that found the seat belt saved lives and reduced injuries by 50-60 percent. That same year, Volvo offered the seat belt as standard on front and rear outboard seats.
• Within five years, three-point belts appeared in cars throughout Europe and the U.S. Bohlin’s invention has saved hundreds of thousands of lives and prevented or reduced the severity of injuries for countless people. That makes the three-point safety belt the single most important safety device in the 120-year history of the automobile.
• The real breakthrough in legislation actually came from Victoria, Australia, which was the first state worldwide to draw up legislation in 1970 requiring not just the fitting of seatbelts, but also their actual use. In the first year of law, traffic deaths in the state dropped by 18 per cent.
• Consumer Reports blog states that in the year 2006, the use of seat belts saved an estimated 15,383 lives. During the five-year period from 2002 through 2006, seat belts have saved over 75,000 lives.
• Currently all U.S. states except New Hampshire have seat belt laws. However, 18 states do not have primary enforcement laws, meaning penalties can only be applied if the car is pulled over for another infraction. Studies show that stronger laws lead to higher use rates. Seat belt use continues to climb in the United States with 83 percent of all occupants buckling up.

What’s even more interesting is that neither Volvo nor Mercedes kept their inventions to themselves, and in fact encouraged other automakers to adopt the safety devices.  Thank you, Mr. Bohlin and Volvo for making our world a little more safer.

Click here to read more.

(Source: Business Week)

NewDealDesign and Better Place teamed up to create a car recharging tower called the Charge Spot, and won themselves an IDEA gold award

One day, recharging stations for electric cars might be much more common than gas stations. If NewDealDesign has its way, they won’t look at all the same, however. The San Francisco design shop has teamed up with e-car venture Better Place to create the Charge Spot, an electricity outlet that received the gold medal in 2009’s International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA a.k.a. Industrial Designers Society of America). The slender and sleek column looks a bit like a sidewalk traffic barrier with a blue plastic top. Amit calls it a “mini-tower of electric power.”

NewDealDesign, founded and financed by Gadi Amit, its president, borrowed from its experience with consumer-electronics clients such as Dell , Fujitsu, Nokia, and Palm to create the Charge Spot.

Better Place’s goal is to have these electricity outlets built wherever people might park their cars for long stretches—parking lots, garages, and streets. Motorists would plug one end of a heavy-duty extension cord into the top of the Charge Spot and the other into a port on their vehicles. Within six hours, their cars would be fully juiced and good to go. Shown below is an awesome cool video, courtesy of YouTube, demonstrating how the technology works)

The tower also houses digital electronics for recording charges and billing motorists’ accounts. The Charge Spot team, drawn from NewDealDesign’s staff of 12 designers, removed hinges and doors from the first prototypes, simplified the display screen, and changed some internal components, reducing cost to about one-tenth of earlier designs, says Paluska. Each spot can also charge two cars at once.

Better Place, established by Shai Agassi in Palo Alto, Calif., in 2007, is trying to create the infrastructure for battery-powered cars. It is also working with Renault-Nissan to design a new electric vehicle. First-generation recharging fixtures were patterned after gasoline pumps, with a power cord instead of a hose. NewDealDesign chose a different model: chargers for portable devices such as laptops, cell phones, and iPods.

“We want to make the electric vehicle a normal, widespread car, not just for the ‘crazy’ green guy,” says Amit, 46, who started NewDealDesign in 2000. Better Place launched the Charge Spot last December in Israel, where 900 of a planned 100,000 have been deployed in preparation for the upcoming launch of its electric vehicle.  Plans are afoot for  massive, worldwide deployment of these charging stations in many car-huggng cultures, including the US, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Austrlia.

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: Green Car Congress & GreenTechMedia)

A plug-in parallel hybrid electric terminal tractor used to move shipping containers and cargo within the port will be tested at a Port of Long Beach shipping terminal. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is coordinating the project among several ports and will also compile and analyze project data related to the tractor’s performance, including emissions, charging, diesel fuel reduction and other aspects.

Terminal tractors – vehicles that move massive cargo loads at seaports around the world – spend up to four-fifths of their time sitting still with their engines running, waiting to be put to use. Given that fact, why not retrofit the prevalent diesel-burning versions to make them plug-in hybrids?

US Hybrid Corporation performed the conversion which uses a 33 kWh Li-ion battery pack from GAIA. The truck is equipped with a 6.6 kW charger. EPRI expects the plug-in to have about 4 hours of electric operation, depending upon the duty cycle, said Andra Rogers, senior project manager of Electric Transportation at EPRI.

The equipment will be tested at SSA Container Terminal on Pier A at the Port of Long Beach for 3 months.

As a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) the tractor will be able to move containers weighing up to 95,000 pounds as its diesel counterparts can, but unlike diesels will not idle its engine when inactive. Over a year of full-time operation it is expected that the PHEV tractor would use 3,000 gallons of fuel per year less than a similar diesel and significantly reduce emissions.

It costs about $80,000 to convert a diesel terminal tractor to a plug-in hybrid, but a converted tractor will save about 80 percent of its fuel usage, or about 3,000 gallons of diesel a year, giving it a payback of about six years, EPRI estimates.

Ports, and the shipping industry they serve, aren’t as publicly visible sources of pollution as on-road cars and trucks. But the global shipping industry accounts for a significant share of the world’s greenhouse-gas emissions – about 4.5 percent, according to a U.N. study reported by the Guardian newspaper last year.

Only a fraction of that can be contributed to on-shore activity at ports. Still, ports have been linked to high levels of pollution and contamination of nearby communities, and that’s led to government and industry action to clean them up, such as a $28 million project at the Port of Oakland, Calif. aimed at cutting diesel truck emission by up to 85 percent, the San Francisco Chronicle reported last month.

The three-month Port of Long Beach demonstration project is part of a one-year demonstration, during which the tractor will also be tested and evaluated at ports in Savannah, Ga., Mobile, Ala., Houston, and New York City.

Click here to read the entire article.

Date:  August 19, 2009

Time: 3:00 PM -4:30 PM EST

Speakers:

• Balaji Prabhakar, Stanford University
• Nicholas W. Ramfos, Director, Commuter Connections, National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board

This webinar will examine a project in India, led by Dr. Balaji Prabhakar, where a variety of payments and lottery awards were tested to encourage bus commuters to shift their schedules to just outside of peak periods. Dr. Prabhakar’s presentation will discuss the specific tests that were conducted and the results of each.

Closer to home, Dr. Prabhakar is also beginning to help try to solve some of Stanford University’s parking and commuting challenges in a policy climate that leaves little room for error¿the university is subjected to heavy penalties if the campus exceeds its allowance for peak-period car commuters.

Dr. Prabhakar has some very creative ideas for testing incentives related to parking at Stanford, which he plans to share in this Webinar, and the technological know-how to implement them and determine their effects.

The webinar will also provide a brief look at incentive programs implemented in the Washington DC metropolitan region to help reduce congestion. Nicholas Ramfos, the Director of the Commuter Connections program at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments will highlight incentives including a region-wide Guaranteed Ride Home Program, free consulting services and equipment lease reimbursements to employers that start or expand a telework program, and a new demonstration program that will be launched this fall which will pay commuters to carpool in designated congested corridors in the region. Nicholas Ramfos’ brief presentation will focus mostly on this newest demonstration program.

Click here to Register and for additional information on the event.