With the brilliant help of graduates from Hoboken's Stevens Institute of Technology, our local community shuttle bus (a.k.a. The Hop, formerly known as The Downtown Crosstown Shuttle) can now be viewed live on the city's website as it cruises along narrow Hoboken city streets from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM (EST), Monday through Friday. If you're not near the internet, try texting “crosstown” to 41411 to get a return text with the location of the bus' whereabouts whenever it's running, then run down to the corner before you miss it!
GPS
Why Your Cell Phone is the Most Promising Transportation Planning Tool
Emily Badger reports on the growing importance of the cellular phone, and particularly their location tracking capabilities, as the next most essential transportation planning tool.
The Atlantic Cities
The Highway Trust Fund Challenge: Policy Reform And Increasing Revenue
Politico recaps the findings of the two federal commissions authorized by the last transportation bill. While their findings are not hopeful, they do present a better outlook for a change 'down the road' - perhaps in a future authorization bill.
Politico
Using GPS to Help Ease Congestion in Beijing
GPS data from over 30,000 Beijing cabs have provided researchers at Microsoft Research Asia glimpses into underlying causes of congestion in the city. Typically, the culprit is missing or flawed connections.
Technology Review
High Tech Approach To Decongesting Midtown Manhattan
Using remote sensing, GPS technology and other high-tech strategies, city traffic planners aim to clear Midtown's infamous traffic problems - from Queens. The $1.6 million investment will tackle a problem costing the city about $13 billion a year.
New York Post
Did GPS Kill the Lighthouse?
With GPS technology ubiquitous, the lighthouse perched high on a cliff may soon become a relic.
CNN
Satellite Crash Jeopardizes Russian GPS Program
Russia has been developing a $2 billion alternative to the American GPS system. This week, a programming error sent 3 critical satellites crashing into the Pacific Ocean.
The Christian Science Monitor
Geolocating Your Fruity Pebbles
"Indoor positioning systems" are getting closer to reality, placing products at your fingertips by tracking them down within the store.
Directions Magazine
Using Crowds, and GPS, to Chart Roadkill
Ron Ringen has logged more than 1,400 animals for a roadkill project. "I'm almost a fanatic with it," he said. "You get hooked."
The New York Times
Transit and Car-Sharing Get Boost from Technology
The increase in transit ridership and carsharing isn't just due to the rise in gas prices, but also the rise in new technologies providing up-to-the-minute reports on location and ride availability.
New Urban News email
What Can Taxi Data Tell Us About NYC Streets?
New York City has GPS data from tens of thousands of taxis and is beginning to mine that information to improve its streets. We talked to some transportation experts for their ideas on how to use it.
Streetsblog
Traffic Survey Paints Picture of New York City Congestion
Through a survey of New York City taxis with GPS tracking devices, the city has created a database of speeds and routes that gives them a clear picture of the state of traffic in the city.
The New York Times
People Rarely Leave 6-Mile Circle
In a study in Europe using cellphone GPS data, researchers discovered that people rarely leave a six-mile area around where they live. GPS cellphone data is being used for a host of urban planning studies like this.
Planning Commissioners Journal
How Mobile Apps Will Change Your City
Gigaom looks at a handful of "augmented reality" apps, both current and projected, that create an interface between the internet and the world around us.
Gigaom
VMT Fee May Replace Car Taxes In Netherlands
Imagine this: Replacing the sales tax on purchasing a new vehicle and annual, 'fixed' fees with a VMT fee based on size, weight, and CO2 emissions of the vehicle. This is the plan of the Dutch government to reduce congestion and greenhouse gases.
Breitbart.com
An iPhone in the City
Mon, 09/07/2009 - 05:37
What's better than Twitter in the city? An iPhone. With a connection to the Internet, built-in camera, location-awareness, 3-access accelerometer and colorful display, the Apple iPhone has become much more than a mobile phone: it's a sophisticated mobile computing platform. Combine this technology with a library of thousands of programs and growing ecosystem of developers, the iPhone is powerful and versatile tool to transform how people interact with their surroundings.
A growing number of iPhone apps are taking advantage of the phone's functionality to allow people to navigate, measure, observe, and interact with cities in new ways. This post describes some I have come across for e-government, urban sensing and interaction, and navigation. First, a caveat: I don't actually own one of the devices myself and haven't tested the apps (yet). I've certainly missed many, so leave your favorites in the comments below.
New York City Bus Tracking System Delayed
A long-help plan to install GPS-ready bus tracking equipment to New York City buses has been pushed off indefinitely.
NY1 News
Oregon To Introduce VMT Fee Legislation
Oregon was the first state to study replacing state gas taxes with a Vehicle Miles Traveled fee in 2007. Now Gov. Kulongoski is taking the next step - introducing legislation to replace the 24-cent gas tax with a VMT fee that applies GPS technology.
Corvallis Gazette Times
'Pay As You Drive' Insurance
'Pay as you drive' insurance will soon be a reality in California, surviving the state senate as a voluntary program that environmental groups say will encourage people to drive less by saving them money on their car insurance.
San Francisco Examiner
Using Web Mapping For the Public Good
The use of geographic information systems for the public good is a rapidly growing field. The technology shows great promise for discovering unequal distribution of resources and environmental racism, writes Peter Manzo.
Stanford Social Innovation Review
