TransportGooru

(Source: Bloomberg)

Cars and light trucks will be required to meet a U.S.fuel-economy average of 27.3 miles per gallon for 2011 models, a 2 mpg increase from the previous year’s level, the Transportation Department said.

The 8 percent gain announced today in Washington carries out a 2007 law intended to curb emissions and fuel use. The change, being put in place asGeneral Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC face possible bankruptcy, isn’t as aggressive as the 27.8 mpg target that President George W. Bush proposed in April 2008.

“This isn’t going to be a stretch for them to meet this,” David Kelly, former acting head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under Bush, said of automakers. New-car fuel economy already averaged 31.3 mpg by 2007, NHTSA said in today’s rule.

Cars must average 30.2 mpg, up from 27.5 currently, under the rule. Light trucks will average 24.1, up from 23.5 mpg for 2010 models. The December 2007 law called for vehicles to meet a 35 mpg standard by 2020 models, a 40 percent increase from the average in 2008.

“The bad news is that the 27.3 mpg standard means that they’ll have to make up for it in future years,” said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Campaign, a group in Washington that works for environmentally “clean” cars. “The goods news is that they have promised that they will.”

President Barack Obama’s administration had a March 31 deadline for setting the standard, giving the industry about 18 months to prepare its 2011 models to meet the requirement. Bush never issued his proposed standard before he left office.

Click here to read the entire article.

 (Source: Business Week)

As the commercial model of India’s microcar is unveiled, U.S. carmakers would do well to learn from the innovations that brought it about

When Tata Motors (TTM) unveiled a prototype of its Nanomicrocar at the Delhi Auto Show in January 2008, auto executives around the world were aflutter. Quickly, they hustled teams to India to document the planned $2,000 “people’s car.” And industry watchers and innovation experts soon reported on the engineering and supply-chain breakthroughs behind the car.

Some 14 months later, Tata is set to show off the commercial version of the Nano, on Mar. 23. Today, the U.S. auto industry is struggling to survive, with General Motors (GM), once the world’s biggest carmaker, on the brink of bankruptcy. Look beyond the Nano halo and it’s clear that Tata Motors has problems of its own, from the $2.3 billion in debt it took on to purchase Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor (F) last year to the sums sunk into the Nano assembly plant in West Bengal that had to be abandoned. On top of that, there are the Nano competitors in development.

Still, no one disputes that the Nano is innovative on multiple levels—from its engineering to its marketing to its manufacturing. So it’s hard to avoid the question: What can a humbled Detroit learn from the Tata Nano?

A lot. The lessons start with the vision of Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Motors’ parent, Tata Group, to create an ultralow-cost car for a new category of Indian consumer: someone who couldn’t afford the $5,000 sticker price of what was then the cheapest car on the market and instead drove his family around on a $1,000 motorcycle. “Just in India there are 50 million to 100 million people caught in that automotive chasm,” says vice-president Vikas Sehgal, a principal at Booz & Co. And yet none of the automakers in India were focused on that segment. In that respect, the Nano is a great example of the so-called blue ocean strategy.

ROADS TO GREATNESS

“Great companies are built on creating new markets, not increasing market share in existing ones,” says Vijay Govindarajan, a professor at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and chief innovation consultant at General Electric (GE), who quickly runs off 10 lessons for Detroit. Among them: U.S. automakers should focus less on incremental improvements to existing cars or adding a new model to the Cadillac line in order to compete against Lexus, and think more broadly about new market opportunities. Where, in other words, are Detroit’s blue oceans?

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: Autobloggreen)

 

You know what state needs more smart fortwos? Texas. That must have been Daimler’s thinking before approving an expansion of the car2go carsharing service there. Daimler started car2go in Ulm, Germany last October and it will be coming to Austin, Texas – that little blueberry in the big red cherry pie of a state – this fall. There are now more than 200 fortwo cdi models that anyone in Ulm, visitor or resident, can rent by the minute, hour or day, 24/7. Costs range from 19 euro cents a minute to 9.90 euros an hour to 49 euros a day. Unlike other car-sharing services, registering for the car2go service is free. Daimler didn’t release any information on possible pricing for the U.S. service.

 

The Daimler press release available on Autobloggreen has some additional info. on this, including this nugget:

The capital of Texas with its 750,000 residents is appreciably bigger than Ulm and is distinguished by its open-mindedness and its very involved citizens. “We very much look forward to becoming the first international partner of car2go,” says mayor Will Wynn. “Our city is known for its strong sense of environmental responsibility. car2go fits this wonderfully because we can then offer the residents of Austin an intelligent mobility concept with a high positive environmental factor. The project has our full support.” 

As in the first phase of the German pilot project, car2go will begin in Austin with a defined group of users, for example city employees. It is then planned to make car2go accessible to the public in Austin in a second step.  Other factors predestining Austin to be the first international car2go city are the city’s size and its up-to-date economic structure. Among other things it is the location of the fourth largest university in the USA. Beginning in autumn 2009 a fleet expected to number 200 smart fortwo mhd vehicles with automatic start/stop function will be put into operation there.

Click here to read more and to view an awesome picture gallery showing more Smarts in Austin.

(Source: Autoblog; Picture: Autoblog)

 What can $50,000 can get you?

After a lot of hype and delivery of 250 Tesla Roadsters, the company’s Model S was unveiled today in Hawthorne, California.  It is expect that production will be ramped up to 20,000 units annually by the end of the first year of production; after the $7,500 tax break, the Model S will start at just under $50,000 – $49,900 to be exact; and 440-volt charging will be available. That base price is for the 160-mile range pack; a 230-mile range pack and a 300-mile range packwill also be available. The biggest hitch: the car doesn’t go into production until Q3 of 2011.

Transportgooru thinks this is a game changer and here is the “why”:

• According to Tesla’s numbers, buying a Tesla S will save you $10-$15K vs a comparably priced gas-powered sedan when gas is $4 per gallon. For an equivalent comparison, you’d have to lease a $35,000 gas-powered car. 
• The car fits seven people and their luggage: five adults and two children in rear-facing seats under the hatch inside, with luggage in the boot up front.
• If not people, it can fit a mountain bike with its wheels still on, a surfboard and a 50-inch television at the same time.
• On a 220V outlet, the car can be recharged in 4 hours.
• The quickness: the standard S will get to 60 in 5.5 to 6.0 seconds. A coming sport version will get to 60 in “well under five seconds,” the company’s folks say.

These facts are what one would come to expect from a conventiona, gasoline powered automobiles that rules the roads today.   As more charging stations pop-up around the country, these vehicles will make transportation seamless.  The few cons  that could be obviously recognized are the re-charging times and the lack of charging stations at public locations (Gas stations, parking lots, etc).  With the conventional gasoline cars, refuelling is quick and doesn’t take more than 5 minutes at the gas stations, which means you can continue travelling without enduring massing delays while traveling longer distances.   It can be expected that unveiling of such cars renders a wonderful opportunity for regional electric companies to enter a niche market to provide “electricity” through charging stations in the service areas along highways, just like a gas station.  Or even better if these charging stations are added to existing gas stations.   If charging times can be shortened with the advent of new technology (See the TransportGooru article about MIT’s breakthrough research on batteries, allowing for lightening quick charging times) 

Click here to read the entire post on Autoblog’s site anddon’t forget to check out the eye popping Tesla Gallery.  Here is Wall Street Journal’s interview with Tesla at the North American Int’l Auto Show (via YouTube):

(Source: Boston Globe)

Mass. officials say public works that would have the biggest impact – and create the most jobs – may be left out

Thursday, March 26, 2009 — ISSN 1529-1057

Registration is now open for IBTTA’s Upcoming Summit – The Future of Tolling:  ORT and the Path to Interoperability, June 14-16, 2009 in Tampa, FL 

Join IBTTA in Tampa, FL and receive cutting-edge information from agencies and toll service providers around the globe on the latest in all-electronic tolling, toll traffic management, and achieving full interoperability. This is the only Summit in the world in 2009 focused on the critical topics of Open Road Tolling, All-Electronic Tolling and Interoperability and will feature more than 100 of our industry’s most experienced and knowledgeable speakers, panelists and exhibitors. What matters most is your customer’s experience driving your roads, the quality of service they receive during the payment process and your success in collecting those payments. Are your customers satisfied? Visit IBTTA’s website to view the preliminary agenda and register today! 

AVIATION

1) US Lawmakers Seek Speedier Air-Traffic Modernization

Link to Dow Jone story: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200903251603DOWJONESDJONLINE000757_FORTUNE5.htm

GPS / NAVIGATION

2) China Asserts Itself in GPS Turf War

Link to story in The Christian Science Monitor:

http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2009/03/25/china-asserts-itself-in-gps-turf-war/

ROADWAYS

3) Citizens Could Get New Voice on Illinois Tollway Moves

Link to story in the Daily Herald:

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=281564&src=109

SAFETY / SECURITY

4) 80,000 on Transportation Security Administration’s ‘Cleared Fliers’ List

Link to story in USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2009-03-25-cleared-list_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

5) National Institute of Standards and Technology Publishes Guide for Emergency Communications Testing

Link to story in Government Computer News:

http://gcn.com/articles/2009/03/26/nist-emergency-communications.aspx

TRANSIT

6) Philadelphia-Area Trains to Offer ‘Quiet Ride’ Cars

Link to story in The Philadelphia Inquirer:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/41879222.html

 7) New York MTA Trains Its Anger at Subway Web Site

Link to story in the Daily News:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/03/26/2009-03-26_mta_trains_its_anger_at_subway_web_site.html

Link to MTA Service Specialists:  http://www.mtaservice.org/

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

8) Nova Scotia Considering Steps to Improve Information on Cobequid Pass

Link to story in The Chronicle Herald:

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/9011158.html

9) National Summary Report for the Traffic Incident Management Self-Assessment (2008)

Link to report from the Federal Highway Administration:

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/news/news_detail.asp?ID=513

Upcoming Events

Air Cargo Europe 2009 – May 12-15 – Munich

http://www.aircargoeurope.com/

Today in Transportation History

1839 **170^th anniversary** – The first Henley Regatta took place.

http://www.hrr.co.uk/

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

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday. 

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

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

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

Questions, comments about the TCN?  Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast ati95berniew@aol.com.   

© 2009 Bernie Wagenblast

(Source: Bloomberg & Livemint.com)

Global airline passenger traffic fell 10 percent last month, the steepest decline since the recession began, led by a plunge in long-haul travel.

The decline, gathering pace from a 5.6 percent fall in year-on-year traffic in January, included a 12.8 percent reduction in passengers flown by Asia-Pacific carriers and a 12 percent drop among North American airlines, the International Air Transport Association said today in a statement.

While passenger numbers continued to deteriorate, the pace of declines in the freight market leveled out. International freight volumes were down 22.1 percent from a year ago, compared with drops of 23.2 percent drop in January and 22.6 percent in December, IATA said.

:  “Freight traffic, which began its decline in June 2008 before passenger markets were hit, has now had three consecutive months in the minus 22 to minus 23% range,” IATA added, says the Livemint.com (WSJ) article.

Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s director general, said: “We may have found a bottom to the freight decline, but the magnitude of the drop means that it will take time to recover.”  But even as freight traffic stabilises, airlines are now feeling the squeeze in passenger traffic.

(Source: Streetsblog)

How can federal policy encourage walkable street networks instead of highways and sprawl? 

(Source: Autoblog & Oregon Live)

Michael Harold Lynch was ticketed for doing 54 mph in a 35 mph area that was also a construction zone. The fine was $206. Lynch decided to let his anger flow by placing $206 in a plastic bag, peeing in the bag and sending it in. Upon receiving Lynch’s little care package, the courthouse staff gave it to a police officer and declined to accept the pungent payment to clear the ticket. 
“It was nasty. It reeked,” said Sgt. Phil Anderchuk.

Anderchuk called a U.S. postal inspector to see if federal law had been broken, and learned that it’s not against the law to mail a box of bodily fluids, as long as it’s properly packed and doesn’t emit an obnoxious odor. 

In explaining why the courthouse couldn’t accept Lynch’s payment, the sergeant wrote that “the pile of coins emitted a strong, pungent odor of stale urine. This was very concerning to me.”

Anderchuk reminded Lynch he still owed for the ticket.

“I encourage you to submit your payment in a more traditional form,” he wrote in a January letter. He told Lynch to expect a visit from a postal inspector, presumably to talk about how close he came to violating federal law.

Lynch apparently got the message, because a few weeks later a check arrived. But it was made out to the wrong agency. Courthouse staff sent it back. In February, a new check arrived, but this time it was made out for the wrong amount: $206, which didn’t account for $65 in penalties for arriving late. Last week, the state turned Lynch’s case over to a collection agency.

Click here to read the entire story. 

(Source: The Transport Politic)

 23 km streetcar project to complement continent’s second metro line currently under construction

Last week, Algiers accepted the delivery of the city’s first trams from Alstom, which manufactured the vehicles at its facility in France. The Citadis light rail vehicles are as modern as any currently in operation in Europe, and they will be the first trams in operation in Algeria in fifty years. The system, which will traverse the principal sections of the 4 million-person metropolis, is expected to transport 185,000 riders a day, though the first stage will only be 16 km long and likely not carry as many passengers. If ridership predictions are accurate, the Algiers tramway will be one of the world’s most trafficked tramway lines. It was designed in collaboration withRATP (Paris’ transit operator) and Systra (an affiliate of France’s SNCF railways).

What’s interesting about Algiers’ tram program is that it is being developed simultaneously with the Metro of Algiers (pictured in the map to the right). The first phase of the Metro program will be 9 km underground and open this summer, though the project will eventually spread out over an area of several dozen km, opening consecutively over the next several years. The system, using Siemens technology, will incorporate automatic train control, minimizing gaps between trainsets and therefore expanding the potential number of voyagers.

Click here to read the entire article.