Technological Innovation * USA - Driving the Industry
(Photo: FTA Administrator Peter M. Rogoff experiences the Driver Assist System in a demonstration developed for the 2010 ITS America annual meeting)
Washington,DC,USA -Passenger Transport, by SARAH HOLLANDER -11 Feb 2011: -- Technological innovation in public transportation has focused of late on such varied areas as communication, energy efficiency, and safety. New technology is pushing public transit investment in everything from apps that radically improve customer service to buses that recharge wirelessly to a system that helps bus drivers navigate snowy highway shoulders...
* Energy Efficiency: This spring, Link Transit of Washington State plans to launch electric buses that recharge wirelessly and quickly during their routes. Five 22-foot buses designed to look like trolleys have been equipped for the service, dubbed The Current. Drivers will pull into a station at the end of each loop, about every 15 minutes, to recharge. A 5-7 minute charge should bring the battery to 80 to 90 percent capacity, with an overnight charge completing the job. Passengers will be able to get on and off the buses during the charging, and there will be no exposed wires or plugs...
* Bus Driving on Dark Shoulders: Bus drivers with the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA) have driven on shoulders to avoid congested freeway lanes for about 20 years. Some drivers, however, are hesitant to move onto shoulders that are dark and covered in snow. While staying on schedule is important, MVTA Transit General Manager, Michael Abegg, said, “their No. 1 job is safety” ... To make the shoulder more appealing, MVTA installed a Driver Assist System for rush-hour commuter trips between the suburbs and downtown Minneapolis. The system, developed by the University of Minnesota’s Intelligent Vehicles Laboratory, was first used in snow plows in Alaska. Ten MVTA express buses have been equipped with high-accuracy GPS equipment and laser sensors...
* Pursuing Internal Technological Innovation:
• Last October the agency launched its My Bus system. Bus passengers can text five-digit codes assigned to bus stops from their cell phones to receive schedule information. The service is now available in a few counties and should be running in all 21 counties by the end of the year.
• The agency is also researching WiFi opportunities for rail stations and trains and hopes to choose one or more providers this year.
• DepartureVision, an online tool for viewing real-time train departure screens, expanded to include all 165 rail stations last year. On a typical weekday, the system receives more than 35,000 queries, Stessel said...
Labels: techno buses
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