Volpe Center Highlights
Mobility
Focus |
Safety |
Mobility |
Human and Natural Environment |
Economic Growth and Trade |
National Security |
Published and Presented
Ensure that the transportation system is accessible, integrated and efficient, and offers flexibility of choices.
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Sharing Knowledge in Track Systems Research (FRA)
On June 6, 1995, Drs. Oscar Orringer and Andrew Kish, and Mr. Gary Carr, all of the Volpe Center's Structures and Dynamics Division, participated in the Conference on Nondestructive Evaluation of Railway and Rail Vehicles, held in Oakland, CA. The conference was sponsored by the International Society for Optical Engineering. Mr. Carr presented the technical paper, "Performance Based Tie Fastener Inspection Technique using the Gage Restraint Measurement System," while Drs. Orringer and Kish each chaired conference sessions.
International Society for Optical Engineering Conference
Dr. Richard John, Volpe Center Director, recently served as symposium chairman at the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE) Conference on "Nondestructive Evaluation of Aging Infrastructure," held in Oakland, CA. Dr. John also delivered a welcoming address. The conference was dedicated to highlighting the proven value and great potential of nondestructive test and evaluation technologies and methods in extending the useful life and ensuring the safe performance of the nation's diverse and aging infrastructure. At the conference, Dr. D.K. Sharma, RSPA Administrator, presented a keynote plenary paper titled "Perspective of Nondestructive Evaluation for the Transportation Infrastructure." The paper presents the national strategic priorities in infrastructure renewal and the key DOT R&D thrusts and priorities related to nondestructive evaluation.
Presentation Before AASHTO's Special Committee on Communications
At the invitation of the Chairman of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Special Committee on Communications, Volpe Center Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Program Coordinator Gary Ritter recently addressed the topic "ITS/NII: Future Possibilities" as part of a June 5-9 AASHTO workshop and conference in Spokane, WA. The presentation, which was attended by 50 delegates from the U.S. and other countries, focused on the relationship between ITS and the National Information Infrastructure (NII).
Regional Mobility Program Support (FTA)
The Volpe Center is supporting FTA's Regional Mobility Program, which funds innovative techniques and strategies designed to improve transit ridership, performance, and efficiency. As part of the Center's support, a report entitled "Evaluation of TransitChek in New York City and Philadelphia" was recently completed by Ms. Judith Schwenk, of the Center's Service Assessment Division. The report documents and evaluates the TransitChek program, that capitalizes on the federally mandated $60 transit subsidy that employers may provide to employees as a tax-free benefit and may treat as a tax-deductible business expense. Employers purchase TransitChek vouchers from the organization administering the program in their area. Employees use them to purchase transportation on participating public and private transit and railroad systems in the metropolitan area. The vouchers function like bank checks, which the operators deposit into their bank accounts. The evaluation found that the TransitChek programs in both New York City and Philadelphia have made progress toward achieving program goals of improving employee mobility, reducing commuter dependency on the automobile, increasing transit ridership, reducing the amount of cash handling by the operators, and fostering cooperation among operators and the business and transportation communities.
New Seagoing Buoy Tender Gets Test Plan (USCG)
The Volpe Center recently completed and delivered to a Coast Guard team an operational test and evaluation (OT&E) plan for the new Juniper Class seagoing buoy tender. The new vessel is a replacement for the 180-foot "WLB" class buoy tenders, which are approaching the end of their design life. The OT&E plan focuses on verifying that the new buoy tender systems will be operationally effective and suitable for introduction into Coast Guard service. The plan will be applied in an operational environment rather than a test laboratory, with crew members serving as the test team. The OT&E plan also includes a detailed data collection framework, constructed for ready gathering of information, potentially through the use of a laptop computer. Mr. Gene Leonard, of the Systems Planning and Integration Division, is leading the Center's effort.
"Turnkey" Demonstration Program
Recently, a Volpe Center team, led by Dr. Douglass Lee, of the Volpe Center's Service Assessment Division, presented "Turnkey Evaluation Guidelines" to the FTA's Turnkey Forum, held at Union Station Terminal in Los Angeles, CA. The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) called for at least two urban transit investment projects to be acquired by means of a process referred to as "turnkey" or "design-build." As part of this task, the demonstration projects are to be evaluated in comparison with traditional methods, to assess whether the turnkey strategy does, or can, result in lower costs, shorter construction times, or other benefits. The guidelines, developed by the Center team, were formally presented in conjunction with the introduction of the Union Station Gateway Turnkey project. Throughout the forum, industry experts offered additions, observations, and changes to the document to make it current with industry standards and practices. Industry experts have considered it to be a strong document and, because of its multi-disciplinary approach, provides a one-of-a-kind treatment that will be invaluable for industry practitioners now and in the future.
Inauguration of DOD GPS Notice to Airmen System (DOD)
On May 16, 1995 at 9:55AM, the first-ever airfield specific Global Positioning System (GPS) Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) system was declared operational. This system was designed, developed, and installed by the Volpe Center. The DOD GPS NOTAM generator, located at the U.S. NOTAM Office in FAA Headquarters, predicts the availability of GPS for a nonprecision approach at an airfield and disseminates the information through the military NOTAM distribution system. During the preflight planning process, military pilots now can receive the start and end time of GPS outages with one minute resolution. Prior to the inception of the Volpe system, aircraft pilots could not obtain information for GPS flight planning since only the satellite operational status was provided, not its effect on availability of signals necessary to conduct the intended non-precision approaches. The system's inauguration was very timely since two GPS satellites were out of service on May 16, resulting in many outages for GPS nonprecision approaches. The Volpe Center is working with FAA so that similar information can be reported for civilian airfields.
