(Source: Wired)

 

The brushed permanent magnet motor produces 31 horsepower and the bike weighs 225 pounds, making the Zero S a little less powerful – but 96 pounds lighter – than a Suzuki DR-Z400SM. With 62.5 foot-pounds of torque on tap, the Zero S has significantly more grunt than, say, the KTM 690 SMC.

Juice comes from a 4 kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery that weighs 80 pounds and charges in less than four hours when plugged into a 110 volt outlet. Zero predicts the battery will last five or six years with normal use. No word on the replacement cost, but an extra pack for the Zero X – which uses a 2 kilowatt-hour pack – costs $3,000.

Power flows directly to the back wheel – no transmission – and the bike offers 9 inches of suspension travel up front and 8 at the rear. Zero wouldn’t offer any details on who’s producing the suspension or brake components.

 

(Source:  New York Times; Photo: Jay Mailin/Bloombern News)

Obama’s Top Auto Industry Troubleshooter

After 26 years as one of the most politically connected investment bankers on Wall Street, Steven Rattner finally took a job in Washington — only it is not quite the one friends and business associates thought it would be.

(Source: Treehugger)

Img: Daniel Sparing @ Flickr

The Dutch and the Danish pass back and forth the crown for best cycling country. Now new research (from the Dutch) shows Holland to have the safest cycling roads (graph after the jump). Here’s how Tineke Huizinga, State Secretary of Transport, views the bike:

“The bicycle oils the wheels of the municipal traffic system. Cycling means arriving at work, school or the gym in a more alert frame of mind, feeling creative and positive.”

That may seem like a subjective statement, but the Dutch have found cyclists do have fewer sick days. And, amazingly, cycling safety is NOT give the highest priority in Dutch planning.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 – ISSN 1529-1057

The deadline to submit entries for the Student Essay Competition has been extended to April 17.  This year’s competition, one of the highlights of ITS America’s Annual Meeting, is sponsored by Southwest Research Institute.  The Student Essay Competition is designed to encourage student interest and future participation in the development of Intelligent Transportation Systems and solutions.  Three winners will be honored in conjunction with the Best of ITS Awards during an awards ceremony on Monday, June 1, 2009, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, MD – inside the Washington DC metropolitan area.  For full entry guidelines and essay topics for this competition, please click here.  If you have further questions, please contact Edgar Martinez at emartinez@itsa.org 202-21-4223.

AVIATION

1) FAA Gets High Marks for Deployment of Satellite-Based Surveillance System

Link to story in Aircraft Maintenance Technology:

http://www.amtonline.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=7859

CAMERAS

2) Pilot Project in UK Uses Cameras in Helmets of Traffic Wardens to Record Video and Sound

Cameras to be used to resolve disputes over fines but concerns about recording private conversations.

Link to story in the Enfield Independent:

http://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/4273430.Traffic_wardens_given_surveillance_powers_under_new_videocamera_scheme/

PUBLIC INFORMATION / EDUCATION

3) National Work Zone Awareness Week

Link to story and video on WTTG-TV:

http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/dc/040709_work_zone_awareness_week

Link to news release from US DOT:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pressroom/fhwa0911.htm

4) Rhode Island DOT Enters the World of Social Networking

Link to story in The Interchange:

http://www.dot.ri.gov/documents/news/interchg/Winter2009.pdf  (page 8)

RAILROADS

5) United Transportation Union Launches Close-Call Pilot Program with NJ Transit

Link to story in Progressive Railroading:

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article.asp?id=20109

Link to UTU news release: 

http://www.utu.org/worksite/detail_news.cfm?ArticleID=46622

ROADWAYS

6) West Virginia House Approves Emergency Response Bill

State department of transportation must be notified during certain emergencies.

Link to story in The Charleston Gazette:

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/News/200904063534068

7) Signs at I-75 Ramp in Atlanta Incomplete, Two Years After Fatal Bus Crash

Link to story in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/04/06/hovramp0406.html

SAFETY / SECURITY

8) Whole-Body Scans Pass First Airport Tests

Link to story in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/business/07road.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

TRANSIT

9) New York City Transit Begins to Blog the L Train

Link to story in Metro:

http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/04/07/05/4355-82/index.xml

10) Dude, Where’s My Bus? Ask DIYcity!

Link to story in The New York Observer:

http://www.observer.com/2009/media/dude-wheres-my-bus-ask-diycity

Link to DIYcity:  http://www.diycity.org/

11) Wireless Passenger Communications System

Link to document from the Federal Railroad Administration:

http://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/Research/rr0834.pdf

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

12) Road Weather Information System Environmental Sensor Station Siting Guide Version 2.0

Link to draft report from the Research and Innovative Technology Administration:

http://www.itsdocs.fhwa.dot.gov/JPODOCS//REPTS_TE/14447.htm

VEHICLES

13) Utah Rolls Out New ‘Share the Road’ License Plate

Link to story in The Salt Lake Tribune:

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12091043

News Releases

1) New Greyhound Buses Redefine Leisure Travel – Upgraded Fleet Features Wi-Fi

2) Houston TranStar Goes Twitter

Upcoming Events

APTA Rail Conference – June 14-18 – Chicago

http://www.apta.com/conferences_calendar/rail/

Today in Transportation History

1989 **20^th anniversary** – A bus, en route from Montreal to New York, was hijacked to Ottawa.

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/08/world/a-bus-headed-for-new-york-is-briefly-hijacked-in-canada.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/H/Hijacking

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

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday. 

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Questions, comments about the TCN?  Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast at i95berniew@aol.com.   

© 2009 Bernie Wagenblast

(Source: Jalopnik)

P.U.M.A delivers 35 mile range, 35 MPH top speed, all on 35 cents of electricity 

GM and Segway have teamed up before the New York Auto Show on what they’re calling the PUMA project. The prototype vehicle was exclusively unveiled today on the Today Show. It’s no April Fool’s joke.  PUMA stands for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility and the prototype running around outside NBC’s Today Show this morning is an experimental prototype of a vehicle Larry Burns, GM’s vice president of research and development, and strategic planning, claims we’ll see a roadable version by January.

Jalopnik’s review of the PUMA after taking it for a spin goes like this:  

The first impression is of how small and simple the PUMA is. There’s barely room for two full-sized adults to sit side-by-side within its roll cage and inside, under the rough plexi windshield there’s only one control: the aircraft-like yoke.

(Source: Charlotte Obervser & Autoblog)

Horry County officer back at work after 3-day suspension for going 131 mph in Kershaw County

His reason for driving at ridiculous speeds was that he was on his way to work traffic at the Carolina Cup in Camden, SC and was running late. Just like “running late” isn’t a good excuse for the rest of us, in this case it didn’t didn’t warrant a free pass for Mr. McGaha. The Charlotte Observes quotes Department of Public Safety director Mark Keel saying:

He faces a $355 fine and six points against his license if convicted.

“There was no justification for it,” Keel said. “He had no excuse.”

While McGaha was being stopped, he flashed the car’s police lights, presumably to let the trooper know he was a police officer, Keel said.

In August 2006, McGaha was recognized by the Department of Public Safety and Mothers Against Drunk Driving as “Statewide Rookie of the Year” for his work stopping drunk drivers.

“He’s been a great trooper from what I understand,” Keel said. “He was very apologetic, and he knew he made an error in judgment, and it’s those kinds of errors that can get people hurt.”

(Source: Business Week)

Image Courtesy: African Development Bank

International donors and lenders on Monday pledged $1.2 billion for projects to improve road and rail links between eight southern African countries.

The aim is to reduce transportation bottlenecks and bring down costs along the main trading routes through South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Botswana and Mozambique.

Bad delays at national border crossings, along with road taxes, have led to high prices for shipping products to regional and international markets, especially from landlocked countries like copper-rich Zambia. Vehicles also require frequent repairs due to poor road quality.

World Trade Organization director-general Pascal Lamy told participants at a two-day conference that there was an urgent need for Africa to speed up the completion of a North-South transportation corridor.

International lending institutions and donor governments promised $1.2 billion toward the project — with half coming from the African Development Bank over the next three years.

The World Bank pledged $340 million, with additional support from the European Union and Britain.

 (Source: Hurriyet Daily News)

ISTANBUL – In an attempt to escape banks, some transportation firms change their vehicle identification numbers and the color of the trailers in their fleet. Such irregularities are eroding trust in the industry as a whole, says Murat Tokatlı, chairman of the Association of Trailer Manufacturers. ’Our customers are unable to obtain funding for trailers,’Tokatlı complains

Some transportation companies that are in distress and unable to pay their loans resort to fraud, eroding confidence in the sector, the head of a Turkish association has warned.

These firms change their vehicle identification numbers and colors of the trailers in their fleet in order to escape from banks. Such irregularities erode financial institutions’ trust in the transportation industry, said Murat Tokatlı, chairman of the Association of Trailer Manufacturers, or TREDER. “Therefore, customers are unable to obtain funding for trailers. This forces producers to shoulder costs and risks.” 

Tokatlı said 1,000 trailers and 300 trucks are “lost” at present due to the irregularities. He also said some firms have new traffic registrations for previously-used vehicles after having small producers change their vehicle identification numbers and colors. 

Erosion of confidence 

“Such irregularities started six months ago. The losses deriving from this have reached 25 million euros. The vehicles we produced get lost, and another brand new vehicle emerges. Such moves are completely in violation of the manufacture, amendment and assemblage regulations for vehicles,” said Tokatlı. 

Irregularities in type approval certificates have also been an ongoing issue in the sector, Tokatlı said. Despite obtaining just one type approval certificate, some firms produce many vehicles, he said. 

Explaining the irregularities, he said; “Some producers manufacture a type of product without having its certificate. Then they purchase the certificate and have the vehicle’s traffic registration. Besides being against the law, this also is a threat for safety. It is crucial to establish an audit mechanism.”

Commenting on financing problems stemming from the irregularities, he said; “The irregularities have eroded the trust of finance institutions into the transportation sector, which is the purchaser of trailers. The customers are unable to obtain financing for trailers. Maybe half of the trailer sales in Turkey are made with producers’ loans. The sector is under threat, and therefore we are obliged to provide the funding. Producers shoulder the cost and risk of the financing.”

Click here to read the entire article.

Monday, April 6, 2009 – ISSN 1529-1057

1) A Scramble to Add Air Traffic Controllers

Link to story in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/business/05airtraffic.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

2) Orlando International Airport Tower‘s Air Controllers’ Inexperience is a Cause for Concern

Link to story in the Orlando Sentinel:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-asecoia05040509apr05,0,3446929.story

BUSES

3) Challenging Times for Bus Rapid Transit System in Johannesburg

Link to story in Engineering News:

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/bus-transport-2009-04-03 

CAMERAS

4) Cameras Sought for Louisiana Railroad Crossings

Link to AP story:

http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20090405/UPDATES01/90405007

MARITIME

5) London Boats to Take Oyster Card as Mayor Promotes Thames

Link to Bloomberg News story:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=ah2LCGnMT9Ac

OTHER

6) North Korean Missile Launch Sends Officials Rushing Into Action

Air traffic, maritime vessels quickly advised.

Link to story in The Yomiuri Shimbun:

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20090406TDY02305.htm

7) Information and Communications Technologies and Climate Change: Problem or Solution?

Link to story on EurActiv:

http://www.euractiv.com/en/climate-change/ict-climate-change-problem-solution/article-180760

SAFETY / SECURITY

8) Airport Face Scanners ‘Cannot Tell the Difference Between Osama bin Laden and Winona Ryder’

Link to story in the Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/5110402/Airport-face-scanners-cannot-tell-the-difference-between-Osama-bin-Laden-and-Winona-Ryder.html

9) US DOT Aggregates Hazmat Reporting

Link to story in Government Computer News:

http://gcn.com/articles/2009/04/06/dot-hazmat.aspx

TRANSIT

10) MTA Online – How the New York City Subway Transit System Uses the Internet and Social Media

Link to interview with Diane Chehab on Maketing.FM:

http://www.marketing.fm/2009/04/03/mta-online-how-the-nyc-subway-transit-system-uses-the-internet-and-social-media/

11) NBC in Transit Launches in New York, New Jersey

News and entertainment will air on PATH trains and stations.

Link to story in The Hollywood Reporter:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3iff50ba6951560a30f6b7af52e5d298b6

News Releases

1) Inrix Delivers Real-Time Access to 10,000 Traffic Cameras

2) Research and Markets: Navigation to Boost European Passenger Vehicle Telematics and Infotainment Market Growth in the Short to Medium-Term

Upcoming Events

2009 The Future of Tolling: ORT and the Path to Interoperability – June 14-16 – Tampa, Florida

http://www.ibtta.org/Events/eventdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=3616

Today in Transportation History

1909 **100^th anniversary** – Robert Perry and Matthew Henson claimed to have been the first to reach the North Pole.

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0406.html#article

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

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday. 

To subscribe send an e-mail to:  TCNL-subscribe@googlegroups.com

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

Questions, comments about the TCN?  Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast at i95berniew@aol.com.   

© 2009 Bernie Wagenblast