Transportation Radio

The recently retired executive director of TRANSCOM, Matthew Edelman, has been inducted into the ITS New Jersey Hall of Fame. Matt spent a few minutes with Transportation Radio's Bernie Wagenblast to talk about the honor and how TRANSCOM has evolved during its time as its leader.

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey operates some of the busiest transportation facilities in the world. Additionally, they also cover many modes, including bridges, tunnels, airports, bus terminals, ports and rail. Pat Foye is the agency's executive director and in an address to the annual meeting of ITS New Jersey he talked about what the agency is doing with technology. Following his address he spoke with Transportation Radio's Bernie Wagenblast.

SmartTransit USA will be held in Elizabeth, New Jersey on October 25 and 26. Dan Loosemore, the Director and General Manager of Global Transport Forum talked with Transportation Radio about event.

When the 23rd ITS World Congress opens its doors in Melbourne on October 10, it will feature many of the same elements attendees have come to expect; exhibits, plenary and executive sessions, along with technical tours. But this is the first ITS World Congress in Australia since 2001 and the nation is eager to show off all that's been happening with intelligent transport in the country over the past 15 years.

Transportation Radio's Bernie Wagenblast spoke with Susan Harris, the CEO of ITS Australia, to get a preview of what will be happening.

Across the US, University Transportation Research Centers are charged with doing transportation research and helping to prepare people to work in the transportation field. One of these centers is located at the University of Vermont in Burlington. Transportation Radio talked with two members of the staff, Dr. Glenn McRae, Associate Director of the TRC, as well as the Director of the Northeast Workforce Development Center, and Dr. Lisa Aultman-Hall, Professor of Civil Engineering at UVM. We began with Dr. McRae giving an overview of the TRC.

One of the biggest impacts of Superstorm Sandy on NJ Transit's rail network was on its power systems. Eric Daleo is the Senior Director of NJ Transit's Resilience Program and he recently spoke at an ITS New Jersey technology forum that examined what transportation agencies are doing to quickly bounce back from weather disruptions. Daleo say one of the major thrusts of NJ Transit's resiliency program is strengthening its power network.

Transportation systems are quite vulnerable to the forces of nature. This is especially true of the technology that is used to better manage the transport networks. C. William Kingsland is the Assistant Commissioner for Transportation Systems Management in the New Jersey Department of Transportation and at a recent ITS New Jersey technology forum he discussed why resiliency is important.

Winter means a lot of great things; sledding, skiing and, of course, hot chocolate. Unfortunately, it's also the season when the most home fires occur.

The Cranford Fire Department has some tips on staying safe during this season of cold weather.

Winter weather and long, lonely stretches of highway can make traveling along Interstates 90 and 94 treacherous. Having a wide variety of both real-time and reference information can make for a safer trip and provide confidence before heading out. The Western Transportation Institute recently launched North/West Passage. The institute's director, Steve Albert, gave Transportation Radio some background on the project.

Rein Jelle Terpstra is a professor of art and photography at the Minerva Academy of Fine Arts in Groningen, Netherlands. He's in the midst of writing a book about the funeral train that carried the body of assassinated US Senator Robert F. Kennedy from New York to Washington, DC. Transportation Radio spoke with Professor Terpstra and asked him to tell us about the project.