February 2009

Metrorail wireless service to expand

February 28, 2009

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is expanding cell phone and Internet access throughout its Metrorail system.

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Snow snarls bus routes; commuters delayed

February 28, 2009

After Thursday’s snow caused bus delays throughout the Seattle (WA) area, a local official urged Metro to upgrade its customer communications.

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Fast track for high speed?

February 27, 2009

“After years of being parked on a siding, plans for 110-mph passenger trains in Wisconsin and Illinois could be ready to roll, with the aid of the federal stimulus package. Rail advocates and state officials are optimistic that Midwestern projects will capture a significant chunk of the $8 billion set aside for high-speed rail in [...]

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Virgin Trains in race for U.S. high-speed rail

February 27, 2009

“Virgin Trains, which operates the West Coast Main Line in Britain, is bidding for a slice of President Obama’s multibillion-dollar upgrade of the American rail network, The Times has learnt. Virgin is understood to be the only British company involved in the President’s plan to build high-speed rail links between key cities on the East [...]

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NIST creates cloud-computing team

February 27, 2009

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has created a team to determine the best way to make cloud computing more secure for agencies that want to adopt this emerging technology.  Cloud computing would enable agencies to acquire computer services, including applications and storage, over the Internet.   Link to full story in Federal Computer Week.

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GSA puts USA.gov web site in the cloud

February 26, 2009

In one of the federal government’s first tests of cloud computing, the General Services Administration plans to move the official federal web portals from government servers to a private company.  Both USA.gov and its Spanish-language companion site GobiernoUSA.gov will be hosted and supported by Miami-based Terremark Worldwide Inc. GSA expects the move to reduce operating costs [...]

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CharlieCard contract wasted millions, auditor says

February 26, 2009

According to state auditor A. Joseph DeNucci, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority wasted $15.4 million because of inadequate planning and oversight of the design of the CharlieCard automated fare collection system. DeNucci’s office specifically questioned a series of change orders between 2003 and 2008 that delayed implementation by a year. The MBTA’s general manager, Daniel [...]

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USDOT seeks innovative research proposals from small businesses

February 26, 2009

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration announced the first of two Small Business Innovation Research program solicitations for 2009. Small businesses are invited to submit innovative research proposals that address high priority national transportation goals during the solicitation period, which runs from February 13 through April 15. The SBIR program is [...]

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Luring government IT to the cloud

February 26, 2009

“The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s IT department had a problem after creating a 4,500-page Web site that was less than the sum of its parts. The City of Seattle’s network was unable to successfully screen out spam. The District of Columbia’s network was, well, simply dysfunctional.   All three government agencies ultimately turned to the [...]

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New Mexico to add rail WiFi service

February 25, 2009

The New Mexico Department of Transportation will provide free high-speed wireless service on the Rail Runner train.

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