From the monthly archives:

January 2009

MTA pulls the plug on bus tracking, again

January 31, 2009

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority has abandoned its real-time bus tracking project.  Tracking equipment was installed on 185 Manhattan buses, but the program never emerged from the testing phase. According to NY1, the MTA did not cite a specific reason for cancelling the project other than saying that it was “not reliable.”
It’s the second time the MTA [...]

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Taming traffic chaos: Germany exports punctuality to Colombia

January 30, 2009

“The fight between good and evil is represented by the colors green and red, at least that is the way Miguel Castro sees it. Castro is a bus driver in the Colombian metropolis of Cali, and the two colored lights on his dashboard tell him whether he is behind schedule or not. For Castro the [...]

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ITS features in Birmingham transport upgrade

January 30, 2009

Transportation investments to improve access to Birmingham  International Airport will include real-time transit information boards to display bus arrival information, variable message signs, bus priority at traffic signals, and a new interchange at Birmingham International Station.   According to UK transport minister Paul Clark,  “Better facilities encourage people to use public transport rather than their cars, [...]

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Nokia announces 11 finalists in global Calling All Innovators competition

January 30, 2009

Forum Nokia announced 11 finalists in its Calling All Innovators mobile developer contest. Applications of interest to the transportation community include GreenDrive, which senses real-time and anticipated road conditions that influence fuel consumption, and TigerMap, which combines mass transit information with recommendations for hotels, restaurants, and shopping in more than 150 Chinese cities. Link to [...]

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Add mass transit directions to your website with HopStop’s API

January 29, 2009

HopStop, which provides online trip planning services in major metropolitan areas, is offering a free version of its API to websites.  The application, which is limited to 1,000 calls per day,  will enable developers to integrate mass transit and walking directions into their websites and also build customized mashups.
While HopStop faces some significant competition in [...]

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Georgia public-safety radio network years in the making

January 29, 2009

“Having interoperable communications during an emergency can be priceless for first responders and the public, but rolling out the network can take years. The Georgia Interoperability Network allows statewide communication for first responders without requiring counties to replace existing radio equipment. By retaining the counties’ current radio equipment, the state has achieved widespread buy-in among [...]

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Bangkok to use RFID system to inform bus and taxi users

January 29, 2009

Bus and taxi travelers in Bangkok will soon benefit from the development of a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Sensor Network, originally aimed at managing bus and truck fleets more efficiently and cutting down on fuel burned by vehicles stuck in traffic. They will able to track public buses on their mobile phones, and will [...]

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Denver pilot program cuts emissions by city vehicles 10%

January 28, 2009

A pilot program that provided Denver drivers with feedback on their driving habits reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 10% from May through November 2008.
The pilot tested whether equipment that measured a vehicle’s idling and driving performance — and then gave the information to drivers as feedback on their habits via a website that included fuel [...]

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Trial success for mobile tickets

January 28, 2009

“The Department for Transport [UK] has completed the first live ticketing trial using the government-mandated ITSO smartcard standard.  The six-month trial in the north-west of England involved two bus operators and 36 passengers using near-field communication (NFC)-enabled mobile phones to pay for bus tickets.   The first aim of the pilot was to demonstrate the viability [...]

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When CTA driver runs light, you pay

January 27, 2009

“Traffic-enforcement cameras are catching hundreds of buses running red lights in Chicago and the suburbs, and taxpayers are paying most of the tickets.  Chicago Transit Authority buses were photographed blowing through red traffic signals almost 1,200 times last year, while the drivers of Pace buses, paratransit vehicles and van pools racked up more than 100 [...]

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