Augmented Reality Coming to DC Bus Stops Today

September 3, 2010 at 1:32 pm

I was there at the DCweek event when this conversation was first started.. Great idea..and let’s see how the public react to this..

Amplify’d from www.readwriteweb.com
experience
DCQR

Gov 2.0 advocates have printed a run of QR (2D barcode) stickers they will stick at bus stops all over Washington DC today, allowing mobile phone users to quickly get up-to-the moment bus progress reports, post traffic status updates, and more. This augmentation of the physical world with real-time data from the ether strikes me as accessible and useful. The project was one of many ideas discussed at DCWeek this June and is being implemented by the Research and Development group in Office of the CTO, DC Government (on Twitter: OCTOLabs).

O’Reilly’s Gov 2.0 correspondent Alex Howard shared a link to this photo on Twitter this morning. Smart phone users will use QR reading apps to snap a picture of the codes, then their phones will be shown relevant real-time information corresponding to the bus stop they are at. (That makes more sense to me than NYC’s new QR codes on the back of garbage trucks, but hey – they point is, these things are growing more mainstream in the US.)

Read more at www.readwriteweb.com

 

Bernie’s Transportation Communications Newsletter (TCN) – August 27, 2010

August 30, 2010 at 5:03 pm

Friday, August 27, 2010 – ISSN 1529-1057


IBTTA 78th Annual Meeting & Exhibition — Register Today! Early Bird Discount Ends August 22, 2010

Join your colleagues in San Diego, September 12-15, 2010, for IBTTA’s 78th Annual Meeting & Exhibition, the year’s most highly-anticipated learning and networking event — attracting more than 700 toll industry experts and decision makers from across the globe. Under the theme, Sustainable Transportation, the technicalprogram offers tracks focused on innovation, policy, the economy, and the California tolling experience. Hosted by the California Toll Operators Committee (CTOC), this event features interactive seminars, influential speakers, technical tours and special events, informative exhibits and more! Breaking News! The Hilton San Diego Bayfront has reduced the contracted room rate from $241/night to $219/night. The new rate applies to all existing confirmed reservations and any new reservations. Customized sponsorship and exhibitor packages are available. Visit IBTTA’s website for details.

AVIATION

1) US DOT Fines Non-profit Mercy Flights $30,000 Over Personal Pronoun

Link to article in the Mail Tribune:

http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100826/BIZ/8260315/-1/NEWS

GPS / NAVIGATION

2) The Government’s New Right to Track Your Every Move with GPS

Link to article in Time:

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2013150,00.html

PUBLIC INFORMATION / EDUCATION

3) Antitexting Campaign is Getting the Star Treatment

Link to article and video in The Boston Globe:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/08/27/antitexting_campaign_is_getting_the_star_treatment/?p1=News_links

RAILROADS

4) Judge Orders EPA Not to Destroy Records Union Pacific Wants

Link to AP article:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5izQLsYoanTsZoZZ6oQUZuzPGn7wAD9HRF6F80

5) Kentucky Puts Locations of Coal Infrastructure, Including Railroads and River Terminals, Online

Link to AP article:

http://www.kentucky.com/2010/08/27/1409200/ky-puts-locations-of-power-plants.html

Link to map:

http://kgs.uky.edu/kgsmap/KYCoal/viewer.asp

ROADWAYS

6) Visit FHWA’s Online Work Zone Training Compendium

Link to article in Focus:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/focus/10aug/04.cfm

Link to site:

http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/outreach/wz_training/index.htm

SAFETY / SECURITY

7) US DOT to Unveil Database Standards to Improve Highway Safety

Link to article on Nextgov:

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100827_3266.php

8) Do Some Traffic Hazards Get Too Much Attention?

Link to article in The Wall Street Journal:

http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2010/08/27/do-some-traffic-hazards-get-too-much-attention/

TRANSIT

9) Long Island Rail Road Information Screens Have Been Virtually Useless in Wake of Fire

Link to article in The Wall Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704913704575454110763083290.html

10) In Long Island Rail Road Mess, Local TV Had a Chance to be Relevant, but Failed Even to be Useful

Link to article in the Daily News:

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2010/08/27/2010-08-27_tvs_not_1st_stop_for_info_on_lirr.html

11) New Cameras to Catch DC Metrobus Drivers’ Mistakes

Link to article in The Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/26/AR2010082603710.html

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

12) New Traffic Center Opens in Cobb County, Georgia

Link to story and video on WXIA-TV:

http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=151672&catid=3

13) Adelaide on a Road to Nowhere

Adelaide Traffic Management Centre helps manage traffic in South Australia.

Link to article in The Advertiser:

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/adelaide-on-a-road-to-nowhere/story-e6frea83-1225911069762

14) Driving IT Right

Traffic is a web of connections and solutions will look at those relationships.

Link to commentary in Express Computer:

http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20100830/techviews01.shtml

News Releases

1) Global Number of Consumer Telematics Users Will Reach 211 Million by 2015, Says ABI Research

Upcoming Events

Talking Freight Seminar on Freight and Carbon Footprint: Efforts to Enhance Supply Chain Sustainability – September 15

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/news/news_detail.asp?ID=667

Friday Bonus

Catch the humorous end to the call of this horse race at Monmouth Park.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpSmprqptSk

Today in Transportation History

1910 **100th anniversary** What is recognized as the first official radio transmission from an airplane took place at Sheepshead Bay in New York City.

http://earlyradiohistory.us/1910enn2.htm

======================================================================

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday.

To subscribe (for free) or unsubscribe, please contact me at bernie@bwcommunications.net.

TCN archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications

Questions, comments about the TCN?  Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast atbernie@bwcommunications.net.

© 2010 Bernie Wagenblast  www.bwcommunications.net

Naval Dominance – Study says China now has more warships than U.S.A

August 30, 2010 at 4:51 pm

THE International Institute for Strategic Studies (better known as the IISS), reckons China now has more warships than America, which long possessed the biggest fleet. Strangely enough, India is the only nation in this list which is already not a member of the U.N. Security Council. Given the amount of threats India has to deal with along its lengthy coasts and the national security needs might propel the country into this race for the biggest fleet.

Wash. Post: FAA review team finds more than 45 close calls in D.C.-area skies this year

August 30, 2010 at 4:42 pm

This is quite unsettling for many of us fliers who live in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) region. What’s more alarming is this part of the article: “The number of errors by air traffic controllers has risen dramatically nationwide this year. FAA records are compiled on a fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. The total by TRACONS during the last fiscal year was 754. With a month left in the current fiscal year, the error total has reached 1,257.”

Amplify’d from www.washingtonpost.com

On-board systems intended to keep airliners from colliding in midair have been triggered more than 45 times this year in the skies over the Washington as the air traffic controllers who guide planes to and from the region’s airports have made dangerous mistakes at a record-setting pace.

Two of the closest calls this month involved four airplanes carrying a total of 589 people, including one in which a Delta 737 was turned into the potentially deadly turbulent wake of a United 757 as the two planes flew along the Potomac on final approach to Reagan National Airport.

The team found that “more than 45 such events have been documented this calendar year” in which the avoidance systems have been triggered in Washington airspace, according to an internal FAA summary. The systems, required on all planes carrying 19 or more passengers, kick in and order pilots to take evasive action when their sensors indicate a potential midair collision.

Read more at www.washingtonpost.com

 

Navy loses control of UAV near Washington, DC; “software issues” cited for loss of control:

August 27, 2010 at 4:16 pm

This is very unsettling and scary as hell for many reasons and I’ll list just the top two concerns: (1) Personally, I work in Washington, DC. (2). It was flying around for almost half-hour without any supervision.

The situation could get really worse if someone hacked into the system and took control over the craft (in real life when this beast comes armed with some missiles) while it is in flight.. Technology is good until it starts malfunctioning!

Amplify’d from gizmodo.com
Navy Lost Control of Drone Over D.C. Due To

The charmingly named, 31-foot-long MQ-8B Fire Scout Vertical Takeoff and Landing unmanned aerial vehicle was flying at an altitude of 2,000 feet on August 2 when the Navy completely lost control of the craft due to, they say, a “software issue.” It continued, guided only by its own probably-evil robot brain, for about half an hour, flying 23 miles into restricted airspace. The Navy re-established control when the drone was just 40 miles from the nation’s capital.

Read more at gizmodo.com

 

Another Jalopnik Gem – Man Jumps In Hay Tractor, Emerges as a Human Bale

August 27, 2010 at 12:25 pm

It is amazing what all you get to see on the internet.. Oh, this is NSFW! Man drives a hay tractor, suddenly jumps out of the driver seat while the machine is still moving..Strips down to nothing and jumps into the machine, come out of the machine bundled up in hay..

I’m not sure what would drive someone to do something like this but this man clearly needs only one reason to do anything – a rolling video camera. That’s all it took for someone to make him do this!

I like the smell of seared meat when I drive.. World’s First Grill Wearing Motorcycle Rider

August 27, 2010 at 11:40 am

I was out of words when I saw this.. So were many of us on the internet, which lead to this man quickly earning his 15-minutes of fame.. He accepted a $700 fine and a one-month license suspension after the police caught him..

Amplify’d from jalopnik.com

How The Internet Tracked Down A Grill-Wearing MotorcyclistAll this poor 29-year-old from Melbourne, Australia wanted was to recycle a barbecue he’d seen wasting away on the side of the road. Sadly, you can’t do something this ridiculous and not become an internet sensation and police target.

Kiwi Michael Wiles saw the discarded BBQ on the side of the road and decided it would make a nice addition to his home. Driving only a motorcycle, he had to fit the BBQ over his body by actually wearing it. Putting his body through the lower storage area sort of makes sense, but wearing the grill itself on his helmet seems to have sparked the most trouble.

Read more at jalopnik.com

 

Surfing while riding the rails – #NYC subway gets Wi-Fi

August 26, 2010 at 10:54 am

If the centuries old New York City Subway can do this, why not in DC’s relatively new and modern subway system? That would make many commutes productive and possibly serve as an incentive for region’s drivers to shed the cars and take the trains to work. I can’t imagine a better town than DC for adopting this technology, because on any given day we have more folks commuting with their Laptops, iPods, iPads, e-readers, etc. It is a shame that we still can’t get the cellphones to work inside the tunnels for more than one carrier.

With the days of paid Wi-Fi clearly numbered, what business models are there for transit agencies and wireless service provider partners to consider? In the first part of several installments, this week we’ll look at Transit Wireless LLC, which is rolling out wireless networks in New York’s extensive subway system.

Amplify’d from www.masstransitmag.com

In 2007, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) awarded a 10-year communication infrastructure contract to Transit Wireless LLC — a conglomerate of construction and wireless companies — that would bring mobile phone and Wi-Fi service to the 277 stations within the city’s subway system. NYCTA’s parent, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, approved the contract in September 2007 but did not give the official notice to proceed until July this year. The project stalled due to lack of sufficient funding, but was restarted after financing was provided by Broadcast Australia, a Sydney-based multinational that also installed wireless in Hong Kong’s subway. Broadcast Australia, in turn, is controlled by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in a convoluted chain of ownership. Under the terms of the original 2007 deal, the NYCTA would earn in excess of $45 million from an estate lease over the 10-year term; Transit Wireless will cover all network construction costs and generate revenue from mobile carriers such as AT&T, Sprint and Verizon, who would provide cellular service over the Transit Wireless network.

The whole roll-out is expected to cost around $250 million including the payments to the NYCTA; work will commence on the first six stations in Manhattan by September, with live service expected in all six within two years. The remaining 271 stations will be completed within the next six years, although a spokesman for Transit Wireless stated that up to 15 stations a month could be outfitted during the rolling program. Phone and Wi-Fi coverage will be available only in the stations, on platforms and part-way into adjacent tunnels; the contract does not stipulate contiguous coverage throughout the subway system. In addition to consumer services, the Transit Wireless solution will serve public safety organizations by providing the source of a cell phone’s signal within a station, improving incident response times.

Read more at www.masstransitmag.com

 

Live in SFO? Own a Bike too? This might be just for you – Classes help make own bicycle repairs

August 25, 2010 at 6:34 pm

It is always good to learn these things because you never know when and where you will be stuck.. Oh, and it saves a bag load of cash too.

Amplify’d from www.sfgate.com
If you’ve ever paid to have your bicycle serviced or repaired, you know a bicycle is worth more than the sum of its parts. Over the eight years I had my last bicycle, I probably paid for it three times over in tune-ups, tires and, most recently, a new drive train and other service that set me back significantly, even after my discount for being a member of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.

If you have ever felt inadequate when taking your bike in for repairs, you are not alone. Fortunately, San Francisco has a wealth of resources for people looking to learn bicycle maintenance skills. Between sporting goods stores and your neighborhood bike shop, it’s easy to find classes and seminars that fit your schedule – for free or on the cheap – including:

This nonprofit storefront provides employment and job training for at-risk youth and offers free in-store clinics – including a lecture and demonstration – geared to the experience and needs of the participants. Clinics cover basic topics such as flat repair, bike maintenance, bearing adjustment and wheel repair. 3085 21st St. (415) 641-1264, www.pedalrevolution.org.

The Bike Kitchen is a do-it-yourself bicycle resource run by volunteers. On the second and fourth Fridays each month from 6-9 p.m., the group offers classes for “women, trans/gender queer folks, femmes, or anybody else that has had gender be a barrier to learning mechanics.” No one is turned away. The Bike Kitchen also has basic and advanced classes for nominal fees. 650H Florida St., (415) 647-2453, www.bikekitchen.org.

Read more at www.sfgate.com

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Washed Away: 800,000 Pakistanis Cut Off From Road

August 25, 2010 at 6:18 pm

Geez.. This is getting worse by the day.. Given the plethora of problems already dogging the country, no one knows how long it will take for Pakistan to be in the clear and in a situation to effectively manage this growing crisis.

With the economy in tatters, it might be a long time before Pakistan could rebuild all the lost infrastructure, especially the roads that connected the tribal areas.. And the darn cross-border insurgency and military-related spending is not going help this situation in anyway.. This could very well become the defining moment in Pakistan’s relatively-short existence (formed in August 1947).

Amplify’d from www.nytimes.com

On Tuesday, the United Nations said 800,000 people could be reached only by air, and it called for 40 more helicopters from the international community to help take aid to people isolated by the flooding.

“These unprecedented floods pose unprecedented logistical challenges, and this requires an extraordinary effort by the international community,” John Holmes, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, said in a prepared statement.

Reinforcing its call for more helicopters, the United Nations cited the destruction of access roads and bridges in Pakistan’s north, particularly the Swat Valley in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Gilgit-Baltistan region and the Pakistani-administered part of Kashmir. The flooding has also isolated people in the country’s Punjab and Sindh Provinces, according to the World Food Program, a United Nations agency that specializes in delivering food aid to areas affected by crises.

Read more at www.nytimes.com