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A Morning Update
By Leah Harnack - Monday February 13, 2012
Today is the formal release of the Administration's budget and it looks like there's almost 50 percent increase in transportation spending over six years. The budget isn't officially made public until 11:15 a.m. this morning but details have been leaking. Dow Jones reports that it will be a "six-year $476B proposal for roads and other surface transportation projects." Gasoline tax revenues would cover more than half and nearly half would be financed through savings from reduced military spending. The surface transportation bill will be on the floor in both the House and Senate this week. The House Republican leaders will be looking for the 218 votes needed to pass their $260B transportation bill this week. Conservatives say the bill... -
Keeping Up with Federal Transportation Funding
By Leah Harnack - Friday February 10, 2012
Trying to keep up with what's happening with federal transportation funding and keeping up with all of the online analysis has become a full-time position. Not only trying to follow as much as possible online, keeping up with the phone calls and emails people are passing along with content of interest. So, keep it all coming. Here are some things in the last few days that have provided some interesting perspectives ... In case you haven't heard by now, the White House is backing Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, the Senate's $109B surface transportation bill, because of its certainty and funding for the nation's surface transportation programs. On Transportation Nation this morning, Matt Dellinger wrote an article... -
What Can We Learn from the UK'S Campaign for HSR?
By Kim Kaiser - Thursday February 9, 2012
According to James Bethell of the Campaign for High Speed Rail, the potential for high-speed rail to find success in the United Kingdom seemed bleak just a year ago. He made this point during a Webinar co-sponsored by the U.S. High Speed Rail Association. Together with Lucy James, Bethell presented how the campaign overcame considerable opposition to HSR in the UK, and how the successful campaign was carried out. To start things off, Bethell said there are four key benefit areas that HSR has to offer: capacity, economic, linking up the country and aspiration. In January the UK got the green light for HSR. Over the last year, the campaign has been working nonstop to rebut the arguments of its often-time well-funded opponents and making... -
Why Sharing Information on Innovation is a Good Thing
By Jim Baker - Wednesday January 11, 20122012 starts off with the blitzkrieg of consumer technology that is the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Top of the bill this year is a slew of smart devices supporting 4G LTE, destined to be the wide area cellular network technology to replace all others. With Verizon and AT&T LTE already deployed in 190 markets and 26 markets respectively, Sprint is hurrying to upgrade its Clearwire-based WiMAX infrastructure to support LTE in 10 markets by mid-2012. I have been using a Samsung Galaxy Nexus LTE smartphone on Verizon and have experienced download speeds of 28Mbps, so there's no doubt it's a sea change for network capability. Indeed Verizon's faster-than-planned rollou t of LTE is the quickest mass deployment of any cellular... -
Digital Signage Strategies for Transit
By Jeff Collard - Tuesday December 13, 2011Digital communication comprises many methods that can work in concert with each other to meet a variety of goals. Mass transit systems by definition congregate large numbers of people within definable demographics into common spaces. This represents both a challenge and an opportunity for communications. Defining the right combination of technologies and channels to meet communication requirements within a venue is a major challenge to the operator. Restrictions in physical space, operating budgets and legislation governing public spaces require a system-wide strategy for communication. For the commuter, digital signage, the Internet and mobile applications are the three most common electronic media that they will engage. Therefore, a... -
APTA Expo Ready to Begin
By Leah Harnack - Monday October 3, 2011Day 1 of the American Public Transportation Association’s Annual Meeting was spent full of committee meetings and exhibitors finalizing their booth setups as they gear up for tomorrow’s start of Expo . There are about 17,000 attendees here for Expo with 66 countries represented. There are 2,800 booths in the exhibit hall, including 51 DBEs. With 1.1 million square feet of exhibit space in the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center , there’s a lot of ground to cover. There was a whirlwind of activity on the exhibit floor as people were finishing their booth set up and prepping for tomorrow when the show floor opens. While set up isn't even complete, it's evident there are some really amazing things to see with vendors... -
How to Discover Hidden Cost Savings in Your Transit Operations
By Charles Smart - Wednesday September 28, 2011Almost every transit system in North America is looking for ways to cut costs, raise its revenue, or both – all while maintaining high service levels. One of the biggest sources of cost savings and cash generation is hiding in plain sight: your inventory of service and spare parts. Here’s why you should pay more attention to it. Service and spare parts inventory ranks among the largest assets on the corporate balance sheet. Our research indicates that eight of the largest transit systems in North America (ranked by ridership) have approximately $850 million in materials and supplies inventory, of which about $650 million is invested in service and spare parts sitting in their distribution centers, stocking locations, and repair... -
Transit Systems Use Recycling to Reduce Maintenance Costs
By Ralph Malec - Thursday September 22, 2011Rail maintenance departments are discovering a new strategy to reduce operating costs. Transit systems have learned that shock absorbers, long considered throw-away items, can now be reused indefinitely. Twenty-five years ago rail car shock absorbers were primarily larger versions of those used on automobiles. They were simple, hydraulic devices and very inexpensive. New rail car designs that began to appear in the 1980s and 1990s featured trucks with advanced suspension systems. Most of these trucks utilized European-designed shock absorbers that had more sophisticated damping technology and were often rebuildable. These shock absorbers were also much more expensive than the units U.S. rail systems had previously used. Many were priced... -
The Top Three Bias Pitfalls in Capital Planning
By Kevin Connor - Monday September 19, 2011There is an old saying; “There is a sucker at every poker table; if you can’t spot them, it’s likely you.” This, at its core, describes the nature of the bias blind spots that everyone shares. The question isn’t, “Are we biased?” We are. The better question may be, “How do our environment and the system of positive and negative reinforcements within it shaping our perspective?” These influences define our preferences and thus the way we think, feel and respond to information. It is difficult to gain objectivity regarding these influences on ourselves, and so bias becomes a term used for the distortion in how “others” process information. When individual decision-makers within an organization or governing body... -
Lower ESR in Ultracapacitors Increases Fleet Efficiency
By Jeff Colton - Tuesday August 23, 2011As electrification of transportation becomes more important, designers and manufacturers are looking for energy storage solutions to increase fleet efficiency. Already, many are using ultracapacitors to replace or enhance batteries in transportation markets such as hybrid buses and trains. Ultracapacitors store a large amount of power in a small package and have a large capacitance with a low RC time constant, making them ideal for hybrid bus, rail and electric vehicle applications. Ultracapacitors work best in conjunction with a battery, as they make a battery-powered system run more efficiently. There are several reasons why hybridizing public transportation is the best way to decrease wasted energy. First, ultracapacitors operate at a...