Tribune News Service (via “Government Technology”) reports, an ongoing wave of toll-related fraudulent texts could be tied to a popular Chinese “spoofing” kit that recently updated its features to show people how to mimic tolling authorities, according to the cybersecurity website KrebsOnSecurity. The article describes how spoofing scams work and notes that the Federal Trade Commission last week issued its own warning about this latest trend in smishing.
Public
Trump Administration Rescinds Grants And Loans Freeze Following Court Injunction
Associated Press reports, early this afternoon, the president’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) rescinded its January 27 directive to freeze the disbursement of grant and loan funds by federal executive agencies. An ambiguous memo announcing the action “sparked uncertainty over a crucial financial lifeline for states, schools and organizations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington and left the White House scrambling to explain what would and wouldn’t be subject to a pause in funding.” Confusion over the intent and full effect of the freeze led a federal judge to block immediate implementation late yesterday, as Reuters and Roll Call report.
The Washington Post reports, according to a White House spokesperson, the purpose of today’s rescission was to “end any confusion” resulting from the court injunction, not to reverse Trump administration efforts to block spending — including budget allocations — it opposes. Other freezes, on foreign aid and some alternative energy funding, remain in effect.
The American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) had concerns about the breadth of the freeze, reporting yesterday that the OMB directive “renewed questions about the flow of reimbursements to state and local transportation agencies for federal-aid transportation projects.”
The advocacy group Transportation for America blogs about confusion resulting from the recent Trump administration attempts to delay or stop spending. It urges state and local agencies and other stakeholders to report any impacts on their receipt of federal aid and request that future government directives state unambiguously whether transportation funding is implicated.
The New York Times posted online an annotated list of the 2,600 government programs — including many administered by USDOT — that the January 27 spending freeze directive purported to cover.
Kapsch VP Lauri Brady Assumes OmniAir Leadership Role
Kapsch TrafficCom announced that Lauri Brady, its Vice President of Sales and Emerging Technologies for North America, was elected to the board of directors of the OmniAir Consortium, considered the leading transportation industry proponent of certification and interoperability for connected vehicles, intelligent transportation systems, and tolling systems.
Brady’s leadership appointment, Kapsch stated, aligns with the firm’s position “as one of the industry leaders in the global transportation technology sector, as well as its commitment to the interoperability and high standards needed for safer, more efficient systems.” JB Kendrick, Kapsch TrafficCom North America President, commented, “This appointment not only recognizes Lauri’s expertise and leadership but also strengthens our collaboration with OmniAir.”
Following her election, Ms. Brady was named chair of OmniAir’s Certification Working Group, which is tasked with developing the policies and procedures that govern OmniAir testing and certification programs. This year, the group will have an additional mission, addressing “issues related to public policy and regulations, as they impact OmniAir’s certification programs.”
Kapsch noted that Jose Dios, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s CIO, was also elected to the OmniAir board in December, while Nick Hegemier, Managing Director of Infrastructure and Technology at DriveOhio, and Jeffrey Dailey, Assistant Executive Director of Operations for the North Texas Tollway Authority, received new board terms.
TransCore: Advanced Technology And Design Make MTA Congestion Pricing System Effective
TransCore says it is “helping to introduce a new era of urban traffic management” in the US as the prime design-build-operate-maintain contractor for the Central Business District Tolling Program (CBDTP) recently launched by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The firm successfully designed and implemented “a cutting-edge, all-overhead, infrastructure-light configuration of its latest Infinity Digital Lane System” across more than 100 Manhattan congestion zone toll points. The system, which TransCore now operates, features “advanced neural network data processing and machine learning” to accurately identify and appropriately toll each of the 700,000-plus vehicles that the enter the zone on a typical weekday. “The installed infrastructure is designed to minimize the hardware footprint, visually integrate with the unique aspects of Manhattan’s diverse neighborhoods, and accommodate the city’s mix of high-volume multimodal traffic without disruption.”
As TransCore notes in a January 27 news release, initial MTA data show that CBDTP is achieving its intended results: lowering the volume of vehicles entering the congestion zone, improving travel times within and to central Manhattan, removing emissions from the atmosphere, and enhancing public transit. “As sustained results are reported,” the MTA program “is expected to provide new insight into how other metropolitan areas might leverage technology to create more livable, sustainable, and efficient urban cores in the future.”
TransCore president and CEO Whitt Hall expresses pride in the company employees who “truly push[ed] boundaries with cutting-edge technology and complex infrastructure installation” to make the CBDTP system a reality. He adds, “TransCore is humbled to play our role in this transformative project that will improve New York City’s urban mobility ecosystem in a sustainable way by reducing congestion and funding vital transit system capital programs.”
MTA Will Start Releasing Monthly Congestion Pricing Revenue Reports
Bloomberg (via Yahoo! Finance) reports, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will release the first report — it will cover January collections — at its February 24 finance committee meeting. The disclosure plan, announced yesterday, precedes the agency’s intended sale next week of $500 million in bond anticipation notes, which will be repaid in 2026 with congestion pricing bonds. “Proceeds from next week’s short-term sale will help advance work on subway signal modernizations, extending the Second Avenue subway to Harlem and adding more elevators to stations.”