Bernie’s Transportation Communications Newsletter (TCN) – December 17, 2009

Thursday, December 17, 2009 – ISSN 1529-1057

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Deadline Extended: Call for Papers for ITS America’s 20^th Annual Meeting & Exposition

ITS America’s 20^th Annual Meeting & Exposition, May 3-5, 2010, Houston, Texas will provide transportation leaders with effective tools and strategies to create smart cities and communities that are safer, cleaner, more livable and less congested.  Don’t miss out on the opportunity to submit a paper or submit a session proposal to this major ITS event!  The deadline has been extended to Dec. 29, 2009.  For a list of topics, key dates, guidelines, and to submit your paper online, visit www.itsa.org/amprogram.html.

AVIATION

1) Australia to Become First Nation with Radar-Like Coverage of Entire Country

Link to article in The Australian:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/satellite-based-navigation-system-to-allow-air-traffic-controllers-to-pinpoint-aircraft/story-e6frg6n6-1225811541809

2) Air France Inquiry Calls for ‘Black Box’ Changes

Link to BBC News story:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8419565.stm

3) FAA Shows Off Airport Tower Simulator

Link to story and video on WGCL-TV:

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/21985534/detail.html

4) City Council’s Hope for Free Internet at Austin-Bergstrom Airport Wishful Thinking

Link to article in the Austin Business Journal:

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2009/12/14/daily35.html

5) Business Aviation Group Pulls Ads from USA Today

Link to blog on Tnooz:

http://www.tnooz.com/2009/12/16/news/business-aviation-group-pulls-ads-from-usa-today/

Link to letter from the National Business Aviation Association:

http://www.nbaa.org/news/letters/20091216-usa-today.php

ROADWAYS

6) North Texas Tollway Authority Installs LED-Enhanced Signs to Prevent Wrong Way Driving

Link to article in the Plano Star-Courier:

http://www.planostar.com/articles/2009/12/16/plano_star-courier/news/246.txt

SAFETY / SECURITY

7) Los Angeles Metrolink Got a Waiver to Not Post Simple Safety Signs

Link to article in the Los Angeles Times:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-metrolink-signs17-2009dec17,0,5114265.story

TRANSIT

8) UK Government to Fund Switch to NFC-Compatible Transport Ticketing

Link to article in Near Field Communications World:

http://www.nearfieldcommunicationsworld.com/2009/12/17/32494/uk-government-to-fund-switch-to-nfc-compatible-transport-ticketing/

Link to news release from the Department for Transport:

http://nds.coi.gov.uk/clientmicrosite/Content/Detail.aspx?ClientId=202&NewsAreaId=2&ReleaseID=409585&SubjectId=36

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

9) Ohio Using Twitter for Traffic Updates This Winter

Link to AP article:

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/ohio-news/ohio-using-twitter-for-traffic-updates-this-winter-453388.html

10) Dublin Drivers to Get Traffic Updates on Satnavs

Link to article in the Evening Herald:

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/drivers-to-get-traffic-updates-on-satnavs-1979317.html

11) Glitches Hamper Virtual Traffic Monitoring in Bangalore

Link to article in The Hindu:

http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/18/stories/2009121858190100.htm

12) A Friendly Face in a Bad Place

A profile of South Carolina’s incident response team.

Link to article in The Post and Courier:

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/dec/17/a-friendly-face-in-a-bad-place/

VEHICLES

13) Ford Seeks iPhone-Like Apps for Its Cars

Link to article in The Wall Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704541004574599932496893984.html

14) New Audi A8 to Come with Google Earth

Link to article in The New York Times:

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/new-audi-a8-to-come-with-google-earth/

Upcoming Events

Mobile World Congress – February 15-18 – Barcelona

http://www.mobileworldcongress.com/

Today in Transportation History

1969 **40^th anniversary** – The US Secretary of the Air Force announced the termination of Project Blue Book, a program to investigate UFOs.

http://www.archives.gov/foia/ufos.html

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

© 2009 Bernie Wagenblast  www.bwcommunications.net

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