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AROUND THE INDUSTRY

Industry Briefs

Here's a roundup of news from public transportation’s transit agencies and private sector companies.

Two Illinois Agencies Sponsor Global Meeting — Metra in Chicago and the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District in Urbana, IL, were among the sponsors of the 2014 Global Level Crossing Safety & Trespass Prevention Symposium, Aug. 3-8, at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. This conference brought together experts from around the world to discuss the latest research and share best practices to improve the safety of at-grade rail crossings and prevent railway trespassing. The title of the symposium was “Achieving the Three ‘E’s’ of Engineering, Education, and Enforcement, Then Moving Beyond to Evaluation, Encouragement, and Emergency Response.”

The T Improves Wi-Fi — Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has entered into a license agreement with inMOTION Wireless Inc. to install an updated Wi-Fi system throughout the agency’s 14 commuter rail lines, as well as commuter boats and the South, North, and Back Bay stations. Under a 22-year license agreement, inMOTION Wireless will build a $5.6 million system that will expand and improve both the availability and quality of the existing Wi-Fi service at no cost to the MBTA or its customers. Access to the Internet will be free, but premium service will be available for an added charge.

Lytx to Equip GCRTA Buses — Lytx Inc., formerly DriveCam Inc., signed an agreement with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) to outfit its fleet of 400-plus buses with the company’s video-based driver safety program. The agreement comes after GCRTA’s six-month trial that included 100 vehicles and side-by-side comparisons of each participating vendor. The program’s video recorder, placed on a vehicle’s windshield, provides data on risky driving events, thus allowing agencies to focus on operators who need coaching.

OCTA Upgrades Bus Stops — The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) in Orange, CA, has voted to award $1.2 million in county sales tax funds to upgrade 51 of its busiest bus stops. The upgrades are part of the Measure M Safe Transit Stops program. OCTA will install shelters, replace aging shelters, repair amenities, and add bike racks and trash receptacles at select stops. The board also approved $370,000 to expand and improve real-time bus schedule information to cell phone users as part of a regional program.

Minnesota Public Radio Teams with Metro Transit — Metro Transit in Minneapolis-St. Paul is partnering with MPR’s Sound Point program to ­provide Green Line riders with an audio tour of the public art on display at each of the new light rail line’s 18 stations. “There are millions of stories related to the neighborhoods served by the Green Line,” said General Manager Brian Lamb. “Public art at stations helps express the unique stories of those communities, and Sound Point allows artists to express the stories behind these inspiring works.”

Broward County Transit and Palm Tran Get EASY — The Broward County Board of County Commissioners, Pompano Beach, FL, has approved a pilot project that will enable Broward County Transit (BCT) and Palm Tran, West Palm Beach, to accept the EASY Card, a reloadable smart card, and to test mobile ticketing and other fare collection technologies. The region’s other two public transit agencies—Miami-Dade Transit and South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, also in Pompano Beach—use the EASY Card. “The vision for this multi-agency project is seamless travel and fare payment options for our passengers throughout the southeast Florida region,” said Tim Garling, director, Broward County Transit Division.

Thames Clippers Launch Mobile Ticketing — Thames Clippers, a commuter “water bus” that operates under license from Transport for London, has made smartphone ticketing available on its central London service, permitting users to buy tickets anywhere, anytime, and enabling rapid boarding on the river-based line. The service uses Masabi’s JustRide, a cloud-based mobile ticketing and fare collection system that comprises apps for ticket purchase, ­display, and validation with infrastructure for secure payments, ticket management, customer service, and real-time analytics.

Pittsburgh’s Port Authority Wins Award — The Port Authority of ­Allegheny County received a 2014 Film/Video Bronze Telly Award for a 60-second video promoting its ConnectCard. The video, produced as part of the agency’s year-long sponsorship with the Pittsburgh Pirates, follows the team mascot, the Pirate Parrot, as he rides the light rail system and uses his ConnectCard to get to the ballpark. The Telly Awards honor outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs. To see the Port Authority’s spot, click here.

Tunneling Complete for Muni Subway Extension — The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees all transportation in the city including the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), announced the completion of tunneling for Muni’s Central Subway Project, the major extension of its Metro T Third Line. The two 350-foot-long, 750-ton machines each tunneled 8,500 feet (at an average pace of 40 feet a day) to construct two tunnels, which will allow T Third Line trains to travel faster when the Central Subway opens in 2019, cutting travel times by more than half.

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