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ITS
CANADA BENEFITS AND SERVICES
As a result of the recent
survey of members, it has come to light that members
may not be familiar with some of the benefits and
services ITS Canada provides. Over the next few months,
a variety of these will be briefly highlighted in
the newsletter. Should you have questions or need
further information, please do not hesitate to contact
ITS Canada.
Increasing
Members’ Profile in the ITS Community
ITS Canada’s website includes a Members’
Directory that lists member contacts, along
with detailed contact information and a link to the
organization’s website. Agencies looking for
a particular product or service can also search
through Corporate and Sustaining Corporate members'
profiles by keyword. This tool has been well received
by those requiring specific capabilities, whether
to partner or to purchase. The database is also searchable
by province.
ITS
Canada also produces an updated, printable Sustaining
and Corporate Members Directory each month,
made available to members online after the 15th of
each month: www.itscanada.ca/protected/documents/CORPDIR_current.pdf.
This
publication is regularly printed in colour and distributed
at international events, promoting member competence
around the world. All Corporate and Sustaining Corporate
members are also listed, along with a link directly
to each member’s website, at this public
web page: www.itscanada.ca/english/Corp_SusCorp.php.
ITS
CANADA ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND GENERAL MEETING 2008
ITS
Canada is preparing to welcome you to Montreal, Quebec
~ June 1–4, 2008
"ITS
— The Road to Safe and Secure Transport!"
Interesting technical sessions where professionals
share their expertise
Live ITS demonstrations on the exhibit floor
Technical tours to several Montreal deployment centres
Interesting social events that will encourage opportunities
to network
Be
sure to mark your calendar to attend!
www.itscanada.ca/montreal2008
ITS
CANADA TO PROPOSE BYLAW CHANGES
A
review of ITS Canada’s election process was
recently undertaken by a Task Force appointed by ITS
Canada’s Board of Directors. The Task Force
found that changes to the election process are both
timely and appropriate in light of the Society’s
maturity, and noted that the election process should
incorporate principles of simplicity, transparency,
succession planning, equity and efficiency. The major
recommendations of the Task Force are that:
Directors should be elected to a four-year term, with
a two-year interval between elections and half of
the Board seats (i.e., 8 of the 16 Board positions)
eligible for election every two years. Currently,
all 16 Board members are elected every two years.
The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson should be elected
by the incoming Board after each election, through
a secret ballot at their first meeting. Currently,
the Chairperson is elected directly by the members
of the Society and the Vice Chairperson is appointed
by the Board on the recommendation of the Chairperson.
A secure Internet technology should be utilized to
provide for electronic voting, replacing the current
hard copy, mail-based process.
These
recommendations have been approved by the Board of
Directors and were presented to ITS Canada’s
membership at large for initial feedback, as changes
to ITS Canada’s bylaws would be required to
implement some of the recommendations. ITS Canada’s
Board of Directors was impressed at the high level
of engagement from members and the number of responses
and questions that came back. Board member and Chair
of the Task Force Michael Bailey noted, “It
is very gratifying to know that this work was important
to the membership.” The comments received included
clarification and requests for details; Michael Bailey
has responded to all of the questions and the members’
feedback has been reviewed by the Board.
The
responses provided virtually unanimous support for
the principles the Task Force recommended. There were
several members who mentioned the notion of term limits
and suggested there would be advantages to incorporating
them. The Task Force had considered term limits but
rejected them, feeling they are unnecessary because
Board members have been turning over with reasonable
frequency.
The
proposed amendments to the bylaws have now been finalized
and approved by the Board. The next step will be to
ballot the proposed bylaw changes by the membership.
For the bylaw changes to become effective, they must
be sanctioned by at least two-thirds of the membership.
If the bylaw changes are approved, they will be implemented
in time for the next election, to be held in the spring
of 2009.
The
proposed changes are progressive and are historic
in terms of ITS Canada’s evolution. ITS Canada
appreciates the feedback of all those who have participated
in this process so far and looks forward to your continued
participation as the proposed changes move through
the balloting process.
ELECTRONIC
FARE COLLECTION
By
Dr Paul Vorster, CEO of ITS South Africa
Working
Forum Established to Formalize South African Electronic
Fare Collection System
A
Working Forum to formalize outstanding elements of
South Africa’s Electronic Fare Collection System
has been established by the Department of Transport
(DoT). The Forum will include representatives from
the public and private sectors. “This demonstrates
how collaboration between government and industry
can speed up the deployment of ITS systems,”
says Dr Paul Vorster, CEO of ITS South Africa. The
establishment of the Working Forum followed a workshop
on EFC co-hosted by the Intelligent Transport Society
South Africa with the DoT.
The
electronic fare collection system (EFCS) for South
Africa's new and existing public transport modes should
be formalized by the first quarter of this year, Department
of Transport director for public transport policies
Ibrahim Seedat said. Seedat also noted that the country
would need a national ticketing standard with the
impending roll-out of public transport systems, such
as the Gautrain and the bus rapid transit. Once it
is chosen, the integrated fare management system (IFMS)
will be implemented across the new modes in a phased
approach and will potentially filter through to all
means of public transport, including the country's
most prolific people-mover, the minibus taxi industry.
Speaking
at the ITS South Africa Electronic Fare Collection
Workshop, Seedat said that a letter had been sent
to the Reserve Bank and local commercial banks enquiring
about the viability of an "open-system payment
solution" for the country's public transport
modes. He added that, from this point forward, the
Department was looking to explore this option for
implementation. The authority for the formalization
and gazetting of the ticketing system lies with the
Minister of Transport, Jeff Radebe.
NEWS
bITS
ITS PORTUGAL LAUNCHED
A new association, with participation of about 30
different entities, has been launched as "ITS
Portugal" to promote transportation and telematics.
Portugal had previously been one of the few countries
without an ITS association. Mr. André Vits
from the European Commission and Mr. Vincent Blervaque,
Acting Director of Development and Deployment, ERTICO/ITS
Europe, were present at the constitution event. Mr.
Rui Camolino was elected as Director of the association.
For further information, contact Rui at rui.camolino@brisa.pt.
REGIONAL
TRANSPORTION PLAN FOR TORONTO AND AREA
Metrolinx (the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority)
is developing a Regional Transportation Plan (RTP),
a comprehensive blueprint for transportation in the
urban area comprising the Cities of Toronto and Hamilton,
and the regional municipalities of Peel, Halton, Durham
and York. Interested parties are invited to provide
input into a plan to create a seamless, integrated,
sustainable transportation network. The RTP will fundamentally
improve the environment, the economy, and the quality
of life across the region by providing more transportation
choices and better service. In parallel with the RTP
process, Metrolinx is also developing an investment
strategy to support and sustain the ambitious goals
of the RTP, expected to be released in the fall of
2008. Visit their website to register:
http://metrolinx-consult.limehouse.com/portal.
Green Papers will also be posted on this electronic
consultation site for comments. Three papers are available
now. Registrants will receive notifications of the
posting of new Green Papers, polls and surveys.
ROAD
WEATHER MANAGEMENT
The Consortium for ITS Training and Education (CITE)
and the FHWA Office of Operations have released an
interactive web-based course on the “Principles
and Tools of Road Weather Management.” This
course provides transportation professionals in highway
maintenance and/or highway operations with training
to develop tools and strategies for addressing road
weather problems. Visit their website at www.citeconsortium.org.
ITS
CANADA WELCOMES NEW MEMBER
SUSTAINING
CORPORATE
SISE
Inc.
MEMBERS
IN THE NEWS
Delcan
Corporation has been awarded a contract by
Johannesburg Roads Agency (Pty) Ltd, in Johannesburg,
South Africa, to manage their systems integration
and ITS deployment. The project, being led by Stewart
Scott International (SSI), a DHV company, includes
system management for ITS deployment, comprising software
and system integration. The system integration will
focus on urban traffic signal management, motorway
traffic management, traveller information, air quality,
parking management and specifications for hardware.
The SSI/Delcan team will also be providing specifications
for systems that will integrate with other ITS elements
and system management services for the public transport
services.
Delcan
has also announced that it is a recipient of the 2008
Merit Award from the Consulting Engineers and Land
Surveyors of California (CELSOC) for the City of Riverside
Traffic Management Center (TMC) design project. The
City of Riverside funded and built a TMC in response
to the City’s growing population and corresponding
traffic problems. The TMC utilizes a variety of hardware
and software to allow traffic operators and engineers
to monitor real-time traffic conditions on City roadways
and affect traffic signal operations for 190 intersections.
NAVTEQ
has announced the expansion of posted speed limits
and launch of road side warnings in mapping. This
new content enables an improved routing and navigation
experience by taking into account changing speed limits
as well as curves and hills when calculating the route.
In addition, the 21 different roadside warnings, such
as ‘sharp curve ahead’, ‘steep hill’
or ‘no overtaking ahead’, can be used
to provide a notification to drivers about the static
road environment.
Telvent
has been selected by the New York State Department
of Transportation to implement and manage the 511
Travel Information System for a three-year period.
Telvent will lead the project and develop it with
other five companies. The 511 number allows travellers
to access real-time travel information. Telvent will
work with the New York State Department of Transportation
to implement the information service in the state
and the New York City metropolitan area through a
multi-platform service, distributing travel information
by telephone and other electronic means, including
Internet web pages and email.
TransLink
and Transport Canada have jointly
announced a funding agreement that will provide further
upgrades to TransLink’s continuing safety and
security program. The agreement supports a host of
security improvements, including new technology, physical
security measures, and training and planning projects.
Enhanced closed-circuit TV technology on SkyTrain,
improvements to Coast Mountain Bus Company’s
emergency operations centre and enhanced physical
security at some of TransLink’s installations
are among the projects being jointly funded.
TransLink
has also announced a purchase of 141 new diesel-electric
‘hybrid’ buses for delivery beginning
next spring. The new buses run on electricity generated
by a small diesel engine. Compared to the newest generation
diesel buses, these hybrids will cut greenhouse gas
emissions and improve fuel efficiency by 20 percent.
TransLink will order more buses this year for delivery
in late 2009.
UPCOMING
EVENTS
Newsletter
published by ITS Canada.
Submissions
or comments can be emailed to askus@itscanada.ca.
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