Post Tagged with: "Maryland"

Why I love @DDOTDC… and what other transportation agencies/organizations can learn from them

January 25, 2013 at 4:29 pm
English: District of Columbia Department of Tr...

English: District of Columbia Department of Transportation (d-dot) logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m a big fan of transportation agencies using social media to reach their customers & stakeholders.  But often you will find many of these agencies send out tweets and Facebook posts that are plain boring and borderline irritating.  Fortunately, some agencies do understand the importance of adding humor and fun to keep their messages appealing yet entertaining without looking too mundane.  Among a handful of agencies that do this so well is @DDOTDC (aka DC Department of Transportation). They always know how to mix up the seriousness of a bland transportation message with a little bit of humor to make it easy for the end-user to consume, esp. at the end of a long day.  The communications team at @DDOTDC has done a commendable job on many occasions and today is not an exception.

Like every time it happens, today DC metropolitan area got into panic-mode when snow flurries started hitting the ground. As folks left offices/workplaces early, the vehicle traffic started building up on the streets. So, to lighten up the mood and poke a bit of fun of the traditional behavior of DC metro residents, the @DDOTDC team pushed out a series of fun tweets titled Top 5 signs it’s snowing in DC”:

And you see my point? How refreshing is it to see a public agency do something like this instead of just sending out plain boring traffic congestion updates during an already crazy time on the streets?  If you happen to serve as a communications in-charge at any transportation agency, you will be thrilled to see such great levels of audience engagement from the community for each one of these messages (i.e., retweets, Favs, etc). So, if you get a chance, say “Thank You” to the @DDOTDC team for their fun yet sincere community service and all the hard work they put in to keeps us safe on the roads.

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Job(s) Alert – Two Transportation Planners & One Intern – Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments @ Wash, DC

January 11, 2011 at 1:38 pm

Full Time Regular Positions

Internships

About MWCOG:  COG is a regional organization of Washington area local governments. COG is comprised of 21 local governments surrounding our nation’s capital, plus area members of the Maryland and Virginia legislatures, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives.

COG provides a focus for action and develops sound regional responses to such issues as the environment, affordable housing, economic development, health and family concerns, human services, population growth, public safety, and transportation. (Click here to learn more about MWCOG)

About COG’s TPB:  The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the region, and plays an important role as the regional forum for transportation planning. The TPB prepares plans and programs that the federal government must approve in order for federal-aid transportation funds to flow to the Washington region. (Click here to learn more about the TPB and its role in shaping the region’s transportation)

Editor’s Note: Good luck.

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Living like a King! Maryland’s Montgomery County spends $1300 per hour for one hour of car-share

May 13, 2009 at 12:30 am

(Source: Washington Examiner & Washington Post)

A car-sharing program intended to save Montgomery County money has ended up costing $1,300 per hour of driving.

The county paid more than $100,000 for the program, which was used just 16 times in 3 1/2 months. As of April 24, the 28 cars have been used fewer than 84 hours since the pilot program began in January.With the county paying Enterprise Rent-A-Car a flat rate of $1,100 a month for each hybrid and subcompact car, the county has essentially been paying more than $1,300 an hour to use the cars.

By contrast, the private car-sharing program Zipcar charges drivers in the area less than $10 an hour to rent a car on a weekday. Even better, taking a ride in a luxury sedan costs $60 an hour, according to a local limousine company.

 Only two departments in the county administration have used the program thus far (Department of Transportation and Dept. of Technology Services).

County officials said the slow start was because of county employees’ reluctance to give up their own county-assigned vehicles. But with plans to take away 100 “underutilized” vehicles, more employees should start using the car-share program and make it pay off, said Millie Souders, the county’s Fleet Management Services’ division chief. 

“People have been reluctant to sign up for and use them only because of what they’ve had available to them in the past,” Souders said. “I have all the confidence in the world that everybody will start using these vehicles and we will have to expand the number of car shares.”

She added that the car-sharing program would help the county avoid having to replace 90 cars in its fleet this year, which would save the county $1.5 million.

County Council members are considering cutting the car-sharing program from 28 cars to 18 but have indicated that they support its concept. 

“We talked about reducing the car-share program in part because it wasn’t being utilized, not because we don’t support it,” said Council Vice President Roger Berliner, D-Potomac/Bethesda. “It just was having growing pains.”

TransportGooru Musings:  

 Looks like the County has taken acute from the County Executive,Mr. Ike Leggett who spent nearly $500,000 of tax payer dollars towards his security detail last year.  Wait!  This gets better.  It is not the only time the county executive has been in the news for lavishing tax payer dollars on himself.  He has come under fire before.  Last year it was over a $65,000 bathroom, complete with a shower in his work place paid from tax payer dollars. Then, his security detail said using a public restroom would expose him to danger.  

Oh, if that makes you wonder whether Montgomery County is somewhere near Baghdad or Kabul, Afghanistan, you are wrong.  It is just outside Washington, DC, the capital of the free world and it is definitely not the most dangerous place on earth that warrants building a toilet @ $65,000 inside an Government-owned building.  For the financially bent minds, all this madness is happening when the County is exploring ways to trim a budget deficit of $500 million.  How about that for a fine example of financial management!

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President Obama taps John Porcari, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation, to serve as the next Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

April 13, 2009 at 1:19 pm

(Source: Washington Post & AASHTO)

Maryland Secretary of Transportation John D. Porcari has been tapped to join the Obama administration. (Photo by Post)

John Porcari, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation, is President Barack Obama’s choice to become the next Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Maryland’s secretary of transportation John D. Porcari will serve as Ray LaHood‘s deputy if confirmed by the Senate. He first served as Maryland’s transportation chief from 1999 to 2002, leading the development and construction of two high-profile transportation projects in the greater Washington region. He led the planning and start of the Intercounty Connectorbetween Montgomery and Prince Georges County, Md., and the development and funding to reconstruct the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, a critical piece of Washington’s infamous Beltway that connects Maryland with Virginia. In between two tours of duty at Maryland DOT, he served as the chief administrative and financial officer at the University of Maryland.

AASHTO Presser offer the following on Mr. Porcari’s nomination: “John Porcari brings tremendous talent and experience to this extremely important and influential Administration position,” said AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley. “Under Secretary Porcari’s leadership, the Maryland DOT has led the way in community sensitive design and smart growth strategies that have improved the quality of life for Marylanders. He was also instrumental in the development of the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge, a $2.4 billion megaproject which was not only delivered on time and on budget; it broke new ground in environmental, contracting, and management innovation. We commend President Obama for this outstanding nomination and look forward to working with Mr. Porcari, once he is confirmed.”

In his current position, Mr. Porcari is responsible for motor vehicle registration and the highway, transit, aviation, and maritime modes of the state’s transportation system. Mr. Porcari also serves as chairman of the entity responsible for operating the state’s bridge and tunnel facilities. He’s in his second tour as Secretary, having previously served in this capacity from 1999 to 2002.

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Stimulus Dollars In Motion: Maryland Orders 100 Hybrid Buses

March 4, 2009 at 6:28 pm

(Source: TreeHugger)

xcelsior hybrid bus maryland photo

Xcelsior Hybrid Bus. Image credit:New American Flyer, Inc.

Taking advantage of the Federal stimulus package, Maryland’s Governor O’Malleyannounced the State’s intention to purchase hybrid 100 hybrid diesel/electric buses for $62 million.  

Click here to read more.

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Registration Now Open for ITS America’s 2009 Annual Meeting and Exposition

March 3, 2009 at 7:24 pm

Registration for the 2009 Annual Meeting and Exposition of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) is now open. The three-day conference, held June 1-3, 2009 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland (just inside the Washington, DC metropolitan area), provides the intelligent transportation systems (ITS) industry with a forum to learn about and share insights on the latest advancements in ITS technologies.  Don’t miss this opportunity to find answers to your toughest transportation challenges, meet your legislators on Capitol Hill, see ITS solutions in action, and take home ideas for implementation, and learn from your peers. Be sure to take advantage of the early-bird registration rates which are available through March 31. Click here to register at the early bird rate or here for more information on the 2009 Annual Meeting.ITS America Annual Meeting 2009

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