Transportation and Infrastructure

What Big-Box Retailers Can Teach Government About Disaster Recovery

November 28, 2011 - Companies have become masters of disaster as they’ve endured every type of emergency and learned lessons along the way.

‘Drive-By’ Thermal Imaging Quantifies Energy Loss

November 22, 2011 - Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers develop mobile scanning process that identifies savings from correcting heat loss in buildings.

The Top 11 Tech Turkeys of 2011

November 21, 2011 - Half-baked lowlights from the year gone by.

Car Thieves Are No Match for GPS-Equipped Fleets

November 18, 2011 - The Turlock, Calif., Irrigation District and law enforcement have located stolen vehicles from the district’s fleet with the assistance of fleet management technology.

L.A. Airports Prepare for Biometric ID Security

November 18, 2011 - The airports are replacing their identification card reader systems and prepping security infrastructure for an eventual upgrade to biometric-based identification.

San Jose, Calif., Recycles Pavement to Save Money

November 17, 2011 - Recycled streets are paving the way to savings in the capital of Silicon Valley.

Indiana Saves Millions on Do-It-Yourself Application Rebuild

November 15, 2011 - Faced with modernizing a vital project management system, the Indiana Department of Transportation leaned heavily on existing staff.

Driving Test Prep Yields to App Craze

November 10, 2011 - The Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles and other states are finding that teens want an app rather than a paper booklet to help them pass their driver’s test.

Propane-Powered Vehicles Tested at National Park in Alaska

November 4, 2011 - The Denali National Park and Preserve served as a test area for a propane-powered truck.

Roanoke, Va., Tests Power-Generating Rumble Strip

November 4, 2011 - Patent-pending technology could power electronic traffic signals and other roadway markers.

Park and Pay by Smartphone Planned for Seattle in 2012

November 1, 2011 - The city of Seattle is working on a mobile app that drivers can use when paying for metered parking.

Amtrak Putting Wi-Fi on More Trains

November 1, 2011 - By the end of the year Wi-Fi will be available to three-fourths of Amtrak’s rail passengers.

Does Privatizing Traffic Cameras Hurt Public Safety?

October 27, 2011 - Study finds some red-light camera system contracts limit government’s ability to enforce traffic regulations.

NJ Transit Commuters Use Smartphones to Make Purchases

October 26, 2011 - New Jersey Transit partnered with Google to provide a ticket payment option through a mobile app to avoid paying with cash or cards.

Light Monitoring System Keeps Glendale, Ariz., Out of the Dark

October 24, 2011 - Monitoring system detected that 10 percent of Glendale’s street lights weren’t working properly or weren’t operating to industry standards.

Cook County, Ill., Tries E-Ticketing for Traffic Violations

October 18, 2011 - E-ticketing system pilot will reduce paper costs and process traffic tickets faster, officials say.

Orlando Testing Real-Time Traffic Monitoring System

October 17, 2011 - The city is hosting the 18th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems this week.

Cellular Service Being Rolled Out in NYC Subway

October 17, 2011 - New York City now has six subway stations with cell service. More are on the way.

Kicking Hybrids from Carpool Lanes Slows Traffic

October 12, 2011 - University of California at Berkeley researchers find that fewer vehicles in the carpool lane doesn’t lead to faster traffic.

Can Smart Transportation Apps Curb Greenhouse Gases?

October 11, 2011 - Mobile apps for traffic, public transportation and parking look to be a big contributor to cost savings and environmental gains.