Currently viewing the tag: "GPS"
In their March 13th edition, the Economist magazine published this article in which it was written that a company in Washington state, spun off from Microsoft, will be compiling and analyzing real-time satellite transponder and cell phone data from delivery vehicles. The company, INRIX, then will provide this real-time traffic analysis to companies like Tom-Tom, Garmin, and ClearChannel (I guess for their currently lackluster traffic reports), to push to their devices to alert customers of current traffic conditions along various corridors.
On the plus side, it is reported that this information can also be used by emergency authorities to guide them around traffic blockages to provide faster response times. Additionally, this might be able to get us closer to a smarter highway concept, reducing fuel consumption and toxic emissions, and increasing the time we have to spend getting to know our neighbors out there in the sprawl that has become our substitute for small-town America.
Where’s Big Brother again?
Photo Courtesy k2d2vaca at Flickr
First, I want to thank everyone who has shared their thoughts regarding the Metrorail Train Tracker. It is precisely this kind of input/involvement that is so critical to helping improve mass transit and livability in Miami-Dade County.
Judging by comments and emails, it sounds like many Miamian choice-riders would opt for riding Metrobus at least once in a while if the schedule was much more predictable. I very much agree and feel strongly that GPS tracking for buses is the future in coach transit. Just to get an idea of how a system in Miami-Dade might function, check out this link that shows a live map of GPS-tracked buses in Boulder, CO (it even shows the live speed of each bus!).
