Bernie’s Transportation Communications Newsletter (TCN) – June 7, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010 – ISSN 1529-1057
INRIX Launches Free Web-Based Service Enabling Transportation Agencies to View Traffic Flow Conditions Nationwide
Designed for public agencies who own, operate, manage, patrol, and plan the nation’s major highway system, INRIXTraffic.US provides a complete, real-time picture of current traffic flow conditions across the continental United States. INRIXTraffic.US builds upon nearly two years of partnership with The I-95 Corridor Coalition and provides a national version of a site currently in use by dozens of agencies and hundreds of agency employees and contractors along the eastern seaboard. Join INRIX execs Rick Schuman and Ted Trepanier on Thursday, June 10 at 10:00 AM PDT for a special webinar that will provide an overview of INRIXTraffic.US and instructions for using the site as a key component of your transportation operations. Register now for access to the site and webinar at http://www.inrixtraffic.us/.
AVIATION
1) Airlines Work to Catch Up to the Digital Age
Link to article in The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/05/business/05air.html?partner=yahoofinance
2) New Tampa Airport Web Site Could Dictate Future Routes
Link to story and video on Bay News 9:
http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2010/6/5/626437.html
BICYCLES
3) Now Bike Riders Have Their Own Smart Phone Navigation Systems
Link to article in the San Jose Mercury News:
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_15212666
CAMERAS
4) Anti-speed Camera Activist Nabs Police Department’s Expiring Web Domain
Link to article in the Bristol Herald Courier:
CARTOGRAPHY
5) Bing Destination Map: Automatic Napkin Sketching of Maps
Link to article on Information Aesthetics:
ELECTRONIC TOLLING
6) ETC Operator, Taiwan Government Still at Odds Over Toll Collection System
Link to CNA article:
http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aALL&ID=201006050023
GPS / NAVIGATION
7) TomTom: Why Smartphones Won’t Destroy Our Business
Link to article on ZDNet:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/tomtom-why-smartphones-wont-destroy-our-business/35339
8) Are Google Maps and GPS Bad for Our Brains?
Link to commentary in The Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/04/AR2010060402030.html
OTHER
9) Mississippi DOT Charges $1 per Page for Records
Link to article in the Sun Herald:
http://www.sunherald.com/2010/06/05/2235779/mdot-charges-1-per-page-for-records.html
10) Indianapolis Cabbies May be Tested on English Skills
Link to article in The Indianapolis Star:
http://www.indystar.com/article/20100606/LOCAL/6060345/Cabbies-may-face-test-of-English-skills
PEDESTRIANS
11) London to Test Pedestrian Countdown Clocks
Link to BBC News story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/10239206.stm
RAILROADS
12) GE Announces New Rail Technology; Norfolk Southern on Board
Link to article in the Erie Times-News:
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100607/NEWS02/306079928
ROADWAYS
13) Beyond ‘Real-Time Reporting’, Forecasting Future Traffic Jams
Link to article in The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/automobiles/06TRAFFIC.html
14) Goodyear, Arizona Trying to Lure Digital Billboards Despite Concerns
Link to article in The Arizona Republic:
15) Detecting Motorcyclists and Bicyclists at Intersections
Link to article in Public Roads:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/10mayjun/06.cfm
SAFETY / SECURITY
16) Unmanned Drone Providing Real-Time Surveillance of Texas-Mexico Border
Link to story and video on KENS-TV:
http://www.kens5.com/news/Unmanned-drones-launched-over-Texas-Mexico-border-95662399.html
17) Emergency Text Messaging Signals Evolution in Public Safety Communication
Link to article in Government Technology:
http://www.govtech.com/gt/articles/764856?elq=1d54d7aec05d43fea252fbb150e5906b
TELEMATICS
18) OnStar Rival Raises $15.5 Million to Expand Into New Markets
Link to article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle:
http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2010/06/07/story3.html
19) What’s Deep Inside Big Brown’s Trucks
A look behind the scenes at UPS shows why IT is its most critical asset.
Link to article in Forbes:
http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/05/sensors-telematics-trucks-technology-cio-network-ups.html
TRANSIT
20) Next Stop, Sign Shop: Workers Toil Around the Clock on New MTA Signage
Link to story and video on WNBC-TV:
21) New York MTA Offers Late-for-Work Alibis Online
Link to article in the New York Post:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/blame_it_on_train_awS7yzBahPlUJPrkvJwJqL
22) Documentary on Cincinnati Subway Debuts this Week
Link to article in The Cincinnati Enquirer:
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100605/NEWS01/6060327/-Cincinnati-subway-documentary-debuts-
TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT
23) New Cameras Will Help Iowa DOT Monitor Traffic in Sioux City
Link to story and video on KTIV-TV:
http://www.ktiv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12581875
24) New, Computerized Massachusetts Traffic Alert System Launches Over Memorial Day with a Few Fumbles
Link to column in The Boston Globe:
VEHICLES
25) The Connected Car
Ford’s Alan Mulally on how auto companies are at last entering the digital age.
Link to article in The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704183204575289442997599882.html
News Releases
1) Telvent to Manage Traffic for Fushun City in China
4) Nav Canada Participates in Green Demonstration Flight
5) FAA Awards Major Information Display System Contract to All Weather, Inc.
Upcoming Events
IntelliDrive Safety Workshop – July 20-22 – Chicago
http://www.its.dot.gov/press/2010/intellidrive_safety_workshop.htm
Today in Transportation History
1960 **50th anniversary** A nuclear-tipped BOMARC missile caught fire at Fort Dix in New Jersey. The fire released radioactive material at the site.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hac/pha/PHA.asp?docid=376&pg=1
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