Monday, June 7, 2010 – ISSN 1529-1057

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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:

http://www2.tricities.com/tri/news/local/article/anti-speed_camera_activist_nabs_bluff_city_pds_expiring_web_domain/47244/

CARTOGRAPHY

5) Bing Destination Map: Automatic Napkin Sketching of Maps

Link to article on Information Aesthetics:

http://infosthetics.com/archives/2010/06/bing_destination_map_automatic_napkin_sketching_of_maps.html

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:

http://www.azcentral.com/community/glendale/articles/2010/06/04/20100604goodyear-digital-billboards.html

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:

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Next-Stop-Sign-Shop-Workers-Toil-Around-the-Clock-On-New-MTA-Signage.html

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:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/06/06/new_computerized_traffic_alert_system_launches_over_memorial_day_with_a_few_fumbles/

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

2) TrafficLand Adds Extensive Traffic Camera Coverage on One of America’s Most Heavily Traveled Highways

3) Visteon’s New iPhone Application Lets Consumers See Real-Time Traffic Images, Paves Way for In-Vehicle Integration

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 **50^th 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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© 2010 Bernie Wagenblast  www.bwcommunications.net