Transportation Radio

The Seattle area is headquarters to a number of high-tech companies, including well-known firms such as Amazon, Microsoft and Inrix. Those companies also attract a number of young workers. It's against that backdrop that Sound Transit has to plan and measure its communication efforts. Tim Healy is the Marketing and Creative Services Director for the transit agency and he spoke with Transporta...

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. Followi...

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 t...

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 Work...

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.

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 r...

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 b...

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.

Since colonial times ferries were a primary means of travel between New Jersey and New York. For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, many of those ferries were run by railroads. Those ferry services disappeared in the 1960s but in 1986 a new company, NY Waterway, brought ferries back to the Hudson River. The man behind the company is Arthur Imperatore, Sr. Not only is he the founder, but at 90 ye...

It's not always available as a choice, but when it is millions of Americans choose to use public transportation rather than drive. HNTB just released a survey the examined why they are making that choice. Michael Townes, HNTB's transit sector market leader and a senior vice president, spoke with Transportation Radio about the survey beginning with an overview.

NJ Transit Executive Director Ronnie Hakim spoke to the ITS New Jersey annual meeting on Friday and talked about how the agency is using technology to improve the experience for customers. Transportation Radio's Bernie Wagenblast caught up with her after her speech to learn more.

The highest honor ITS New Jersey can bestow is induction into its Hall of Fame. At this year's annual meeting, the organization added Xerox's Ken Philmus to the HOF. Philmus spoke with Transportation Radio's Bernie Wagenblast.

At the end of the 19th century, a railroad was built in then rural Union County, New Jersey. For nearly a hundred years the Rahway Valley Railroad served a handful of towns on its 11 miles of track. Richard King has written two books about the short line and he talked with Transportation Radio's Bernie Wagenblast about the railroad and its unique personalities.

Sam Schwartz, a former New York City Traffic Commissioner and Chief Engineer of the NYC Department of Transportation, recently authored Street Smart: The Rise of Cities and the Fall of Cars. The book looks at how America's cities are changing as people, especially ones, are driving less. Sam talked with Transportation Radio's Bernie Wagenblast about how changing demographics are changing...

Transportation professionals from around the world will have an opportunity to network and see the latest in intelligent transportation systems at the ITS World Congress in Bordeaux, France October 5-9. Transportation Radio spoke with Rasmus Lindholm, ERTICO's Director of Partnership Development and Communication, to learn more about the event as well as the organization.

One of the largest ITS America state chapters, ITS California, will be holding its annual meeting in Los Angeles September 21 through 23. In the first of a series of podcasts sponsored by Econolite, Transportation Radio spoke with Josh Peterman, the Chairman of ITS California, to learn more about the organization and to preview what will take place at the annual meeting.

Although it's more than a year away, preparations are already underway for the 2016 ITS World Congress in Melbourne, Australia. I had the opportunity to talk with Rob Fitzpatrick, Director of Intelligent Transport Systems Australia, to get a preview of what will be happening.

Gregory Winfree serves as the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology in the US Department of Transportation. This week he's in Pittsburgh at the ITS America annual meeting and he sat down to talk with Transportation Radio.

ITS New Jersey, was one of the winners of the State Chapters Awards from ITS America at their annual meeting in Pittsburgh. Rizwan Baig, of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, and Second Vice President of ITS New Jersey, received the award on behalf of the chapter. He later spoke with Bernie Wagenblast about the recognition.

Just 11 days before ITS America held its annual meeting in Pittsburgh, its new president and CEO, Regina Hopper joined the organization. Many ITSA members had their first chance to meet her at the meeting. Transportation Radio spoke with her to learn a little more about her background and what sees sees ahead.

The public had their first opportunity to ride refurbished PATCO cars on Thursday.

What started as a means for friends to stay-in-touch has grown to be much more. Today, many transportation agencies and private-sector companies, are using social media and apps to change the face of transportation. ITS New Jersey hosted a forum Monday that examined what's being done and what lies ahead. Solomon Caviness of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority talked to Transpor...