- Biden Administration Races To Spend Transportation And Environmental Program Funds
- Kapsch Champions Satellite Tolling Solution For India
- Virginia DOT Tests App That Finds Available Park-And-Ride Space For Commuters
- TRB Schedules Webinar On Intermodal Passenger Transportation Facility Developments
- These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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Biden Administration Races To Spend Transportation And Environmental Program Funds
Associated Press reports, “Biden administration officials are working against the clock doling out billions in grants and taking other steps to try to preserve at least some of the outgoing president’s legacy before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.” Part of their effort involves spending funds appropriated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) before the Trump administration gets an opportunity to claw back the money. For example, on Friday, USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg “announced over $3.4 billion in grants for projects designed to improve passenger rail service, help U.S. ports, reduce highway deaths and support domestic manufacturing of sustainable transportation materials.” (TRN inserted a link in quoted text.)
President-elect Trump has been particularly outspoken about his intention to end the Green New Deal and rescind Inflation Reduction Act funding for clean energy and climate adaptation programs launched by President Biden.
Company and Agency Financial Issues And Reports Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Environmental Protection Policies Procedures And Initiatives Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Maintenance Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Safety (Includes COVID-19 Impacts) US Department of Transportation (USDOT) US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) US Gov't Transportation Funding US Infrastructure Funding And Financing InitiativesKapsch Champions Satellite Tolling Solution For India
Satellite tolling is “an efficient and effective way” to address the global problems of traffic congestion and traffic-based pollution, according to a Kapsch TrafficCom news release that notes the company is deeply involved in promoting the technology in India.
A system that employs GPS, Galileo, and other global satellite data is currently under development by India’s ministry of road transport and highways. Its proposed solution has the advantages of “flexibility, low operational costs, and rapid scalability” combined with “highly accurate, infrastructure-light tolling adaptable to different environments, from urban centers to national toll networks.” The choice of a satellite system is ideal for a geographically diverse country like India with a vast and growing highway network.
Kapsch has successfully implemented satellite tolling in Norway and Bulgaria. Its platform “is data protection-compliant and offers exceptional data privacy protections, ensuring only necessary geolocation data is collected and stored.” The limited need for physical infrastructure means Kapsch’s installations are also environmentally sustainable.
Kapsch executive vice president Carolin Treichl comments, “In Bulgaria, we achieved the first go-live within 11 months and are now managing 16,000km of road. Our solution doesn’t just calculate distance-based charges. It empowers cities and nations to manage congestion, reduce pollution, and replace declining fuel tax revenues with a fair road user charge.”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) ETC Systems GPS- and Satellite-Based Toll Collection India Kapsch National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)Virginia DOT Tests App That Finds Available Park-And-Ride Space For Commuters
FFXnow reports on Virginia DOT’s test of a mobile phone app that uses “smart crowdsourcing technology” to help commuters locate unoccupied parking spaces at park-and-ride lots in real time. The department is making ParkZen available to drivers who use six Northern Virginia lots from this month until January as part of an initial evaluation.
In a VDOT news release, Amy McElwain, a VDOT strategic innovations program manager, notes, “Commuters have told us that not knowing whether parking is available at commuter lots is a deterrent to using transit, carpools, vanpools, and slugging. We know that taking the guesswork out of parking makes it easier for commuters to get out of their single-occupant vehicles. However, the challenge has always been finding the resources to install and maintain reliable counting technology.”
ParkZen saves the state from having to install counting equipment because it relies on anonymized data collected from app users. ParkZen can be downloaded for free for both Apple and Android devices, and its Louisiana-based developer is offering “top users” the chance to receive a $50 Amazon gift card for participating in the VDOT test.
Carpooling Mobile Navigation and Traffic Monitoring Apps Virginia Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Washington (DC) Metro RegionTRB Schedules Webinar On Intermodal Passenger Transportation Facility Developments
The Transportation Research Board will host a Wednesday afternoon, November 20, webinar on developments in the planning and construction of intermodal passenger transportation facilities. Presenters, including representatives of major engineering firms, will “summarize key trends and considerations for planning, constructing, operating, and serving airports, rail and bus stations, transit centers, mobility hubs, and water transportation facilities,” and discuss existing and planned examples of intermodal facilities. Key research findings in TCRP Research Report 250 / ACRP Research Report 275 / NCHRP Research Report 1129: Intermodal Passenger Facility Planning and Decision-Making for Seamless Travel will also be presented.
There is no fee to attend the webinar but online registration is required.
Transit and Toll Roads Transportation and Infrastructure Research & Development Transportation Research BoardThese are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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