This
newsletter is available online in an Adobe Acrobat Reader
PDF
file (454k). You can view it using the Reader
plugin for your browser and/or download it for viewing
offline. Free Reader software is available at the Adobe
Systems Incorporated Website.
ITS
CANADA BYLAW AMENDMENTS - RESULTS OF VOTING BY MEMBERS
By
Michael Bailey, Member of ITS Canada’s Board of
Directors
Below
are the results of the referendum to amend ITS Canada’s
bylaws.
The referendum closed on July 30. All three of the
questions were supported by more than 2/3 of the membership,
as required by the current bylaw.
In total, 511 ballots were cast by 151 members.
Question 1 (Amend Article 7 to relocate the Corporate
Headquarters from “North York” to “Toronto”)
was supported by 98.8 percent of ballots cast.
Question 2 (Amend Article 41 to reduce the approval
requirement for bylaw amendment from 2/3 of membership
to 50 percent + 1 members attending a duly constituted
meeting of members or 50 percent + 1 of the membership
in the case of an electronic ballot) was supported
by 91.8 percent of ballots cast.
Question 3 (Amend Articles 10, 11 and 24 to facilitate
the Board’s recommended changes to the organization
of the Board, election of Board members and election
of the Chairman) was supported by 93.9 percent of
ballots cast.
This clearly shows that all of the changes were broadly
supported by the membership. The Society’s use
of the ElectionsOnline application was found to be
both efficient and cost effective.
The
next and final step in this process will be to seek
Industry Canada approval of the bylaw amendments,
as required by the Corporations Act.
The
Society will also proceed to appoint an Election Committee
to consider several logistical steps related to the
2009 Board of Directors election, and to start the
planning process for that election.
We
thank all members who took the time to participate
in this historical vote.
ITS
CANADA WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS
CORPORATE
Associated Engineering
Solotech Inc.
Ville de Montréal
511
IN CANADA MOVES AHEAD
By
Wally Hidinger, Government of Yukon
Second Canadian installation now operational in the
Yukon
Almost 1 million Canadians now have access to 511
in Nova scotia and the Yukon
The
road condition information system in Yukon was already
in need of updating when the development of a 511
system for Canada began to be discussed. After the
CRTC approved the use of 511 in July 2006, Yukon Highways
and Public Works (HPW) decided to pursue a new condition
reporting system. A steering committee was formed
to oversee the project in November 2006. Committee
members included three branches of the Transportation
Division (Engineering, Maintenance, and Transport
Services) to ensure reporting needs on the input and
output sides were met. The technical project manager
from the Information and Communications Technology
Division of HPW also sat on the committee.
The
local telephone and cellular services providers were
notified of our intention to make use of the 511 dialing
protocol in January 2007. Meetings to inform them
of our schedule and the progress being made with implementation
were held as the project developed, and they provided
good cooperation in implementing the telephone-based
aspects of the project throughout the course of the
work. Also in January 2007, the project was approved
under the Canada/Yukon ITS Deployment agreement administered
by Transport Canada. The agreement provided 50 percent
of the funding for the project and was crucial to
the Yukon's ability to cover the cost of acquiring
the system.
System
requirements were identified in April and May 2007.
A request for proposal package was written and made
public through June and July 2007. In September 2007
the project work contract was awarded. The official
completion date for the project work was March 31,
2008.
The
major areas of work included developing a business
process model, configuring a database to receive road
condition information from locations throughout the
Yukon, programming the database to output the road
condition information in a format suitable for use
on a website and by an integrated voice response telephone
system, developing the website and programming the
IVR system, and training field staff (maintenance
supervisors from throughout the Yukon) and administrative
staff on use of the system. All of this was accomplished
by the originally specified completion data.
A
"soft launch" of the system was done on
April 1, 2008. Operational staff used the first three
weeks of system availability to gain experience with
the system, and to educate both administrative and
field staff in its use. On April 25, an official launch
was carried out.
The
Minister of HPW hosted a press conference at which
the system was demonstrated by showing the features
and information available along with how to get access
to both. The launch was well received, obtaining very
positive reports in print and on radio and television
coverage.
The
system has been operating, trouble-free, since launch.
Usage statistics are being tracked and show a good
level of use by the public.
Several
individuals made very large contributions to the successful
completion of the project and deserve credit for their
efforts. Lisa Badenhorst of the ICT Branch of HPW
filled the role of technical project manager and ensured
every aspect of the work was well done. The Transportation
Maintenance Branch of HPW operates the system - Michael
McArthur, Dan Profeit and Allan Baranyk of their staff
were instrumental in completing the project.
511
IN THE UNITED STATES - USAGE STATISTICS REPORTED FOR
MAY 2008
The
usage statistics for 511 telephone services in North
America reported to the 511 Deployment Coalition for
May 2008 were as follows:
2,380,004
total calls
Over 112 million calls nationwide since inception
Eight consecutive months with over 2 million calls
511 service was available to over 128 million Americans
(47%) and almost 1 million Canadians (3%)
There are forty-three 511 services available to the
traveling public operating in 33 states and 2 Canadian
provinces.
ITS
OPPORTUNITIES
MARYLAND
The state of Maryland will fund the initial stages
of a multi-year, statewide communications project
that will allow first responders from different jurisdictions
to communicate with each other, through an interoperable
700MHz system. The winning contractor will have to
make cost projections for both the initial phase as
well as the statewide implementation. The Maryland
Transportation Department, Transportation Authority
and State Police will share the cost of funding the
initial stages. A project management office is contemplated
to oversee the effort, along with the creation of
a statewide computer-aided dispatch and records management
system, and a separate project
that will connect various closed circuit television
systems.
SOUTH AFRICA
The City of Johannesburg will soon issue a request
for a tender worth up to 500 million Rand with regard
to an e-ticketing solution for its Rea Vaya bus rapid
transit (BRT) system. City BRT project manager Bob
Stanway says the first phase of the project will cost
R2.5 billion. Announcements of new tenders will be
posted on the ITS South Africa website at www.itssa.org.
ABU DHABI
In the wake of the credit crisis, economies across
most of the world face turbulent times. In direct
contrast, the six nation Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) is currently enjoying a period of sustained
prosperity, with the joint economies benefiting from
a boost of almost $300 billion U.S. this year. "The
six GCC members are enjoying a spectacular economic
boom, one that we expect to continue over the medium
term. The GCC economy is set to surge past $1 trillion
U.S. in nominal terms in 2008, marking a three-fold
increase in only five years," the Saudi American
Bank said in a recent study. As traffic accidents
and congestion are seen to have a significant negative
impact on the region’s economies, governments
are allocating unprecedented amounts on developing
infrastructure and public transport networks. There
are unprecedented opportunities for ITS solution providers
to help the Arab countries protect their economic
growth through the development of traffic and transport
systems.
TRANSIT
WORKSHOP
Under
the theme "Sustainable and Safe Transportation",
the Quebec Workshop on Specialized Transit will be
held on September 17-19 in Sherbrooke, Quebec (in
French). Keynote speakers and panel discussions will
include sessions on sustainability in the context
of specialized transit, safety issues for persons
with disabilities, SmartDRIVER for specialized transit,
and automated dispatch systems.
This
workshop is being organized as a partnership between
CUTA and ARUTAQ, ASTAQ, ATUQ, ROTAQ, and the Quebec
Ministry of Transportation.
The
deadline for earlybird registration is Monday, August
18, 2008. The hotel room block is being held until
the same date.
For
more information, visit the workshop website:
www.colloquetransportadapte.com
ITS
(UK) WEBSITE RE-LAUNCHED
The
ITS (UK) website has always provided general information
about intelligent transport systems, and acts as the
first point of contact for organizations considering
becoming members of the Society. In the password protected
area, the site has provided a wide range of information
and documentation for members’ use. The new
design continues to deliver all these functions, and
does so in an attractive and up-to-date way.
Visit
the site at: www.its-uk.org.uk
ITS
IN YORK REGION
Located
just north of Toronto, the Regional Municipality of
York is moving forward on a number of ITS initiatives.
As reported in the Markham Economist & Sun newspaper,
the Region is proceeding with a $2.1-million program
to acquire 13 traffic cameras, bringing the total
to 20. The cameras will be installed at intersections
in Markham, Richmond Hill and possibly Newmarket,
in order to monitor for accidents and emergency situations,
and to improve traffic efficiency. The federal government
will cover up to $250,000 of the cost. The long-term
goal is to make the camera images available to motorists
and the media to allow real-time monitoring.
York
Region Transit is also moving forward with ITS initiatives.
All new VIVA buses have a Global Positioning System
(GPS) unit and transit riders have access to information
from variable message sign boards installed along
routes. YRT is now adding GPS units to other buses
in their fleet, with expected completion in January
2009. By spring when the scheduling system is developed,
riders will have access to real-time schedules and
updates on bus delays or cancellations, and this information
will also be made available through their website
and via telephone. In fact, the website will eventually
show exactly where the bus is along the route, but
that feature will not likely be available until late
2009.
Automated
stop announcements and on-board stop display signs
will also be included. VIVA stops will also display
real-time updates for connecting routes. Variable
message signs are also being considered for all terminals.
NEW
WEBSITE FOR TRAFFIC SIGNAL PRACTITIONERS
Set
up and run by practicing traffic signal engineers
in the United Kingdom, this new site does not sell
any goods or services, but acts as a central resource
for information to promote best practices and continued
professional development, working with a growing number
of organizations to share items of interest to industry
engineers. It has been successful in negotiating with
a growing number of sources to make signal-related
articles and papers available.
Visit:
www.ukroadsignals.com
MEMBERS
IN THE NEWS
In
July, International Road Dynamics (IRD)
announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, International
Road Dynamics South Asia (IRDSA), has been awarded
a contract to supply, install and commission 66 toll
lanes using IRD’s proprietary iToll Collection
System, along with 9 Slow Speed Weigh-in-Motion (SSWIM)
systems in India. The systems are to be implemented
across the country at different locations on India’s
national highways system. The contract value is approximately
at $2.45 million U.S.
IRD’s
iToll is a toll audit system used at toll lanes to
assist with the auditing of the collection of toll
revenues. The Toll Collection System will feature
manual as well as automated payments using smart cards
and barcode tickets. It utilizes the IRD iToll video
incident detection system, and also provides toll
centre control equipment to monitor and control all
toll operations. The systems are expected to be installed
and operational in the next six to nine months. The
SSWIM systems are utilized for vehicle weight data
collection. Once completed, IRD will have an installed
base of nearly 500 toll lanes, the largest in the
country.
Announced in July was the acquisition by Image
Sensing Systems Incorporated (ISS) of EIS
Inc., developer and supplier of the Remote
Traffic Microwave Sensor (RTMSTM) radar sensor. ISS
is the developer of the Autoscope® family of video
vehicle detection products for traffic management
and control applications.
NAVTEQ
has announced the availability of NAVTEQ Traffic Patterns™
North America v3.0. This newly updated version includes
typical traffic speeds on nearly one million miles
of road coverage across the United States, Puerto
Rico and Canada, providing reliable, easy-to-use data
for a variety of smart-routing applications, giving
drivers the information they need to assist in rerouting
to avoid typically congested areas. From commuters
to emergency service providers, NAVTEQ Traffic Patterns
enables more accurate route planning and improves
trip-time estimates based on likely traffic conditions.
This newly released product uses historical observations
from GPS probe and sensor data, aggregated, verified
and then matched to traffic location codes in the
NAVTEQ map database.
Telvent
has been awarded a contract for the Maintenance and
Repair of the Electronic Toll Registry System for
the MTA Bridges and Tunnels EZPass System in New York
State. The contract involves the upgrade, enhancement
and maintenance of an E-ZPass electronic toll collection
system, with electronic E-ZPass and manual collection
lanes. Telvent will implement its Remote Operations
and Maintenance System (ROMS) monitoring tool that
will improve maintenance and operations efforts, further
increasing system availability for E-ZPass patrons.
MTA Bridges and Tunnels, the largest among the nation's
bridge and tunnel toll authorities in terms of traffic
volume, serves more than a million people daily in
the New York metropolitan area. As a constituent agency
of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA),
its dual role is to operate seven bridges and two
tunnels and to provide surplus toll revenues to help
support public transit. The E-ZPass system is comprised
of a total of 206 lanes, and over 850,000 vehicles
use these facilities each day.
NEWS
bITS
SAN
FRANCISCO BAY AREA TO HOST ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST
ITS TESTS
The
US Department of Transportation (DOT) and California
Department of Transportation (Caltrans) have announced
a partnership that will provide commuters in the San
Francisco Bay Area with access to cutting-edge real-time
traffic, transit and road safety information. The
project is valued at $12.4 million U.S., as part of
the new SafeTrip-21 initiative.
The
Bay Area will host one of the world’s largest
tests of ITS technology, with applications designed
to reduce gridlock, traffic-related fatalities and
injuries, and improvements to public transportation
services. Field testing of GPS-equipped cellular phones
from up to 10,000 volunteer commuters and transit
vehicles transmitting data from roads in a 32-kilometre
radius to traffic management centres. The additional
traffic information gathered by these "probes"
will help all Bay Area commuters make intelligent
travel choices and avoid congestion while driving
to work or using local transit systems.
A
consumer-friendly platform is being developed to bring
together existing technologies, including trip planning
and traveller information; safety advisories; on-board
displays of commuter rail and transit bus connections;
electronic toll collection, and parking reservation
and payment services.
The
partnership will also establish a national test bed
to advance the development of a Vehicle Infrastructure
Integration system, which will use WiFi and Dedicated
Short Range Communications to alert drivers to unsafe
conditions so they can avoid crashes before they happen.
Multiple consumer electronic devices will be used,
including personal navigation devices, mobile phones,
and a diverse set of communication technologies. In
addition, an in-vehicle “cradle” will
provide a wireless interface to the Internet for virtually
any mobile electronic device. Other SafeTrip-21 partners
include the University of California–Partners
for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH), California
Center for Innovative Transportation (CCIT), Nokia,
NAVTEQ, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Santa
Clara Valley Transportation Authority, and Nissan.
PUBLICATIONS
Road
User Charging and Electronic Toll Collection
This book provides a road map to today's technologies,
systems, regulatory issues, and pricing schemes for
electronic toll collection and road user charging,
assisting in matching the right technology to policy
needs. It clearly steers through pricing and traffic
management principles to establish and evolve policies
and pricing schemes. The book also provides easy-to-follow
end-to-end steps in system planning, technology selection,
procurement and operations.
Hardcover
~ 370 pages ~ Copyright 2006
ISBN: 978-1-58053-858-9
Intelligent
Transport Systems Standards
A comprehensive volume, presented in a convenient
and easy-to-search CD-ROM format, offers the first
exhaustive coverage of existing and developing standards
that support ITS services and their interoperability.
It features up-to-the-minute listings for standards
developing organizations (SDOs) at both national and
international levels, and also provides extensive
referencing to other generic standards that can be
of use to ITS service provision. Includes updates
on the latest best practices worldwide, helping prevent
oversights that could prove costly.
Hardcover
or CD-ROM ~ 848 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59693-291-3
Highway
Traffic Monitoring and Data Quality
Make the most of traffic data collection and assessment
efforts with the first book on state-of-the-art monitoring
and analysis methods for traffic management. This
unique resource gives you a hands-on understanding
of the latest sensors, processors, and communication
links for everything from vehicle counts to urban
congestion measurement. Moreover, you learn statistical
techniques for quantifying data accuracy and reducing
uncertainty in both current system state assessments
and future system state forecasts.
Hardcover
~ 260 pages ~ Pub. Date Sept. 30, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-58053-715-5
UPCOMING
EVENTS
Newsletter
published by ITS Canada.
Submissions
or comments can be emailed to askus@itscanada.ca.
|
