[TCN] Monday, February 2, 2009

 

Transportation Communications Newsletter

 

 

Monday, February 2, 2009 -- ISSN 1529-1057

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AVIATION

 

1) US Senate Commerce Committee Members Eye Boost for Air Traffic Control

Link to story from CongressDaily:

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090130_3067.php?zone=ngtoday

 

2) Sensors to Boost Air Navigation at Queenstown, New Zealand

Link to story in The Southland Times:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/southlandtimes/4834986a6570.html

 

3) United Airlines Tests Faster Bag Tags

Baggage identification will be equipped with RFID chips.

Link to story in USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2009-02-02-airport-check-in-travel_N.htm

 

BUSES

 

4) Oregon's Lane Transit District Drawn to Test Magnet Control of Buses

The program will use sensors and computers to follow magnetic markers in the road.

Link to story in The Register-Guard:

http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/6234482-35/story.csp

 

CAMERAS

 

5) Scandal Erupts in Italy Over Alleged Red Light Enforcement Scam

Link to story in story ITS International:

http://www.itsinternational.com/news/article.cfm?recordID=14708

 

6) UK Speed Camera Fines Rise Sevenfold

Link to story in Traffic Technology International:

http://www.traffictechnologytoday.com/industry-blogs.php?BlogID=154

 

GPS / NAVIGATION

 

7) GPS Gets More Assists

Although A-GPS is one of the most reliable location technologies, it needs an assist in challenging environments.

Link to story in WirelessWeek:

http://www.wirelessweek.com/Article-GPS-More-Assists-020109.aspx

 

OTHER

 

8) New Rules Sought for News-Traffic Copters

Link to story in Radio Business Report:

http://www.rbr.com/media-news/12629.html

 

9) LimeWire Creator Brings Open-Source Approach to Urban Planning

Link to story in Wired:

http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/01/mark-gorton-ceo.html

Link to additional information on GeoServer:  http://geoserver.org/

 

10) US Agencies Struggling to Make Connections Online

Link to story in the National Journal:

http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/no_20090126_4207.php

 

11) Open Source Politics Breathe New Life Into Toronto

Link to story in The Globe and Mail:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090130.wgtchange31/BNStory/

 

12) Delaware DOT Goes Public Online

Link to story in The News Journal:

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090201/NEWS02/902010388/1007

 

RAILROADS

 

13) Union Pacific Uses Video Game Simulators to Train Employees

Link to AP story:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/wire/chi-ap-ne-virtualrailroad,0,1453802.story

 

14) February Edition of Signal Online

Link to newsletter from the European Rail Traffic Management System:

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/rail/interoperability/ertms/doc/010_signal_2009_02_en.pdf

 

ROADWAYS

 

15) Intelligent Transportation Using VANET

Researchers are working on a Vehicular Adhoc Network to make transportation systems more intelligent so they can provide a driver with crucial info.

Link to story in PCQuest:

http://pcquest.ciol.com/content/technology/2009/109020101.asp

 

16) Think Twice Before Using 'Rage' Cards

Company is selling a flip book of signs you can flash to other drivers to make sure they know exactly what you're thinking.

Link to story in the Arizona Star:

http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/278412

Link to further information on Road Rage Cards:  http://www.roadragecards.com/

 

SAFETY / SECURITY

 

17) Local Police Want Right to Jam Wireless Signals

Link to story in The Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/31/AR2009013101548.html

 

18) Quake Takes Out Alert System

Link to story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/398116_quake31.html

 

19) Canadian Cell Phone Suppliers Must Show 911 Callers' Location by February 2010

Link to CBC News story:

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/02/02/tech-911-crtc.html

Link to notice from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission:

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2009/2009-40.htm

 

TRANSIT

 

20) BART Signs 20-Year Deal for Systemwide Wi-Fi

Link to story in the San Francisco Chronicle:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/31/BA6015KD4C.DTL

 

21) Comcast Tests Free Wi-Fi at NJ Transit Rail Stations and Parking Lots

Link to story in InformationWeek:

http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/wifiwimax/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=213000324&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_News

 

22) Ottawa Transit's Public Relations Challenge

Forget about winning back riders — OC Transpo's real task will be earning taxpayers' trust, experts say.

Link to story in The Ottawa Citizen:

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Business/Transit+public+relations+challenge/1242509/story.html

 

23) In Wake of Deadly Accident, Los Angeles MTA Makes Safety Fixes to Help Blind Riders

Link to story in the Los Angeles Times:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/01/in-wake-of-dead.html

 

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

 

24) Snow Britain: Transport Web Sites Crash Under Demand for Information

Link to story in the Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/4434060/Snow-Britain-transport-websites-crash-under-demand-for-information.html

 

25) Tampa Bay Commuters Air Discontent Over Satellite Radio Merger

Link to story in the St. Petersburg Times:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/roads/article972018.ece

 

26) Tweeting Away Toward an Easier Commute

Maryland State Highway Administration provided updates via Twitter during the inauguration.  MTA provides Commuter Connection show.

Link to column in The Frederick News-Post:

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/reporters_notebooks_display.htm?StoryID=85898

Link to MTA Commuter Connections:  http://www.mtamaryland.com/about/mtalocaltvprogram/index.cfm

 

27) UK Traffic Information Supplier UBC Media Sells Commercial Division to Global Traffic Network

Link to story in the Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/02/ubc-commercial-global-traffic-network

Link to news release from UBC:

http://www.unique.com/pressview.php?ID=198

 

VEHICLES

 

28) US Justice Department Program Makes It Easier to Track Cars' Title History

Link to AP story:

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/01/29/america/Auto-Fraud.php

Link to National Motor Vehicle Title Information System:  http://www.nmvtis.gov/

 

29) Researchers Propose Safer High Beams All the Time

Link to AP story:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iTjmYgKNDQW6HfASenZ15HO0o-YAD963LNI00

 

 

News Releases

1) VehSmart Launches the First Ever Personal Remote Panic Safety

2) Spanish Language Version of Directions Magazine Launched

3) FCC Announces Summit on Deployment and Operational Guidelines for Next Generation IP-Enabled 911 and E911 Services

4) Precise Orbit Determination for Jason-1 Satellite Using On-Board GPS Data with Centimeter-Level Accuracy

5) SiRF Gets In Sync with Auto Industry

6) Verizon Hub Features VZ Navigator Connectivity, Powered by Navteq Maps and Traffic

7) Egis Project Becomes Market Leader in Electronic Toll Collection in Ireland

 

 

Upcoming Events

7^th Annual Cargo Aircraft & Operations Conference – April 1-2 – Brussels

http://tinyurl.com/ad8o58

 

 

Today in Transportation History

1709 **300^th anniversary** - Alexander Selkirk was rescued from an island in the South Pacific after being a castaway over four years.  He may have been in the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe.

http://books.google.com/books?id=DSARmYz3DkYC&printsec=titlepage

 

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

© 2009 Bernie Wagenblast