tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12936263918357051032011-11-04T03:15:39.240-04:00Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.comBlogger431100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-592871930745058142011-03-09T14:47:00.000-05:002011-03-09T14:47:53.447-05:00

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood spoke to our Legislative Conference yesterday (March 8) in Washington, DC. He got a big laugh from delegates when he said he had come to IBTTA for the second year in a row to get a lecture about tolling the interstates. On a more serious note, LaHood said the states want to build big projects, but many states are simply too cash-strapped to attempt them.

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-68214722518657156792011-02-01T08:43:00.000-05:002011-02-01T08:43:17.430-05:00

In his State of the Union address last week, President Barack Obama devoted a considerable amount of attention to investment. He said we need to invest in basic research and new technologies, in education, in biomedical research, information technology, and clean energy technology. He said countries in Europe and Russia invest more in their roads and railways than we do and that China is building

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-68741732655773925632010-12-21T06:47:00.000-05:002010-12-21T06:47:58.805-05:00

Last week I had the pleasure of appearing in Juvenile Court in Alexandria, Virginia with my 16-year-old son Sam and 30 other 16-year-olds and their mom or dad. We were there for the driver’s license presentation ceremony. Sam actually earned his driver’s license several months ago and has been driving legally with a paper permit. But our state requires you to appear in court to receive the

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-77596936685654981142010-11-03T00:46:00.000-04:002010-11-03T00:46:16.738-04:00

Based on the November 2 mid-term elections in the U.S., there will be a new landscape on Capitol Hill in January. Republicans will control the House of Representatives while Democrats will hold onto a thin majority in the Senate. What do these changes mean for transportation? What effect will the new balance of power in Congress have on transportation authorization, the fuel tax, tolling, public

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-65938908625388809932010-09-15T09:50:00.001-04:002010-09-20T11:35:47.659-04:00

I think we had an exciting few days together in San Diego. And as so often happens, the learning, engagement, and excitement don’t end here, within the confines of the meeting. They continue for days, months or years after the meeting happens. You renew old acquaintances or make new ones. You take in a new idea that you begin to implement immediately; or perhaps it takes you a few weeks to start

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-64147897275753276872010-07-18T08:56:00.004-04:002010-07-19T00:16:20.243-04:00

This week’s question relates to how you are connecting with the people who are closest and most important to you: your family, friends, colleagues and – yes – your customers. In this era of technological hype in which text messaging, email, Twitter, and Facebook seem to take precedence over a face to face conversation or even a phone call, I’m wondering how effective these connections really are

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-32653739239847116892010-05-27T23:58:00.001-04:002010-05-27T23:59:19.204-04:00

This week’s question is about interoperability and open road tolling – in recognition of the workshop we just held in Boston. But first, a skating story. This morning I rotated the wheels on my Rollerblade inline skates. The manufacturer recommends rotating the wheels periodically to avoid uneven wear patterns that could shorten the life of the wheels and cause accident or injury to the skater.

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-30630078974724163282010-05-02T07:58:00.000-04:002010-05-02T07:58:14.646-04:00

In recent months, we have witnessed a spate of mergers and acquisitions activity in the intelligent transportation systems (ITS) side of tolling. One prominent example is Federal Signal’s acquisition of Diamond Consulting, Sirit, and VESystems which, combined with PIPS and Federal Automated Parking Devices, formed a new unit called Federal Signal Technologies Group. On the public agency side,

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-33414559245896796592010-04-25T01:04:00.001-04:002010-04-25T01:04:32.943-04:00

(Note: This week’s question is inspired by the life of Ed DeLozier, executive director of the E-470 Public Highway Authority in Aurora, Colorado, and first vice president of IBTTA, who passed away suddenly on April 21 after suffering a stroke. Ed dedicated his life to the toll industry. He mentored me and countless others who found their home in transportation. Ed was at his best when he was

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-20226042936869669262010-04-11T07:41:00.000-04:002010-04-11T07:41:22.740-04:00

On April 6, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration declined to approve Pennsylvania’s application to place tolls on Interstate 80. In its press release FHWA said, “The Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program requires that revenue from tolls be used only to improve the tolled facility, in this case I-80, and not be directed toward other state funding needs or

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-12407394670045405482010-04-04T08:22:00.000-04:002010-04-04T08:22:11.765-04:00

Usually at this time of year, I get a big surge of energy in my life: physically, mentally, psychologically – the works. I think it has something to do with the lengthening of days, the increase in sunshine, and the melting of winter into spring. This year, my energy surge is not as big as it has been in previous years. That usually means I’m incubating something. While my conscious mind is busy

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-85667025860280341792010-03-28T08:27:00.001-04:002010-03-28T08:27:33.992-04:00

There appears to be an implicit bias in favor of implementing new surface transportation projects that are either tax supported or funded/controlled by the government (federal, state, local) versus projects that involve tolling, pricing, or public-private partnerships. Are tolled projects subjected to a higher level of scrutiny than government controlled or funded projects? If so, why? If all

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-48114347600112331892010-03-14T07:26:00.006-04:002010-04-11T07:57:20.129-04:00

(UPDATE: We’re keeping this blog question open for another week because innovation takes time. We’ve all heard the story of how Herb Kelleher and Rollin King came up with the idea for Southwest Airlines over drinks at a local bar. As the story goes, Mr. King laid out his plan by drawing three dots on a cocktail napkin representing Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. And Mr. Kelleher supposedly

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-75420860743046948552010-03-07T09:13:00.000-05:002010-03-07T09:13:34.510-05:00

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the U.S. Congress recently released an updated version of a report titled “Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Highway and Transit Infrastructure Provision.” You can read an earlier version of the report dated July 9, 2008 here: http://opencrs.com/document/RL34567/2008-07-09/ According to CRS, “This report describes the wide variety of

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-64961444193330988202010-02-28T08:39:00.001-05:002010-02-28T08:50:47.423-05:00

The 2009-2010 winter season in the U.S. has produced some huge snowfalls in places that typically don’t get very much snow. Consequently, snow has been a big NEWS STORY in cities like Washington, DC (56 inches), Philadelphia (73 inches), Baltimore (80 inches) and a host of other areas that normally receive relatively lighter snowfall in winter. Indeed, the U.S. government closed federal offices

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-85946263615458232632010-02-21T07:26:00.001-05:002010-02-21T07:31:24.773-05:00

In January, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced new distracted driving restrictions on commercial truck and bus drivers. Every Transportation Secretary puts safety at the top of his or her agenda, and the distracted driving initiative seems to be the latest version of that tendency. Yet, no matter what people say or do, the number of fatalities on American highways stays about the

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-85672084781970504292010-02-14T17:58:00.002-05:002010-02-15T10:36:03.284-05:00

One of the more salient features of the current economic crisis is access to capital. For many toll agencies and concessionaires, access to capital is a huge challenge, punctuated by the dramatic weakening or collapse of some of the largest lenders, insurers, brokers, and related financial institutions in the world. Aggravating the situation in the U.S. is a shift in policy affecting some

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-8990346723879564362010-02-07T15:25:00.001-05:002010-02-07T15:26:38.540-05:00

In the last three weeks of this blog, we have focused on the issues of interoperability of electronic toll collection and vehicle miles traveled charging. This week, we take a broader look at the world economic situation, its effects on individual companies and transportation agencies, and what you have done to respond in the face of crisis. It has been nearly 18 months since the onset of the

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-86896988619144056452010-01-31T21:59:00.001-05:002010-01-31T22:00:06.446-05:00

One of the major currents in the river of last week’s discussion on interoperability is the subject of vehicle miles traveled charging, or VMT for short. The interoperability forum report suggests that establishing an overarching structure for nationwide interoperability could become the foundation to support a nationwide VMT charging program. However, not everyone agrees with this sentiment.

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-73334550925733707082010-01-12T15:01:00.002-05:002010-01-19T14:48:50.950-05:00

(Note: If you post a comment using the "Anonymous" profile in blogger, we ask that you please include your name in the comment block.  Thank you.) On October 29, 2009, in Washington, DC, IBTTA assembled a group of experts from different stakeholder organizations, all of whom have a keen interest in the future of mobility and interoperability in North America, to focus on this question: “What is

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-28842107810290883332009-10-15T04:37:00.007-04:002009-10-15T04:52:56.987-04:00

For those of you who don’t know, today is Blog Action Day. Blog Action Day is an annual event held every October 15th where bloggers across the world unite to write about a single issue on a single day. The goal is to spark conversation on an issue of importance across the web.This year’s topic is climate change. So far, more than 8,000 bloggers from 144 countries are participating. Blog Action

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-83316714025678064042009-09-29T00:33:00.003-04:002009-09-29T00:47:42.864-04:00

Rob Atkinson of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation gave a fascinating talk about the importance of investing in digital infrastructure during the IBTTA Annual Meeting in Chicago. He spoke about the kind of dramatic impact that significant investments in IT and the Smart Power Grid could have on our country, comparing it to the secondary impact of the Interstate highway system on

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-59951213293717113952009-09-27T21:12:00.004-04:002009-09-27T21:37:34.368-04:00

They don’t make theater any better than this. During IBTTA’s Annual Meeting in Chicago, President Kary Witt moderated a session on Monday afternoon literally called “Is VMT the Holy Grail?” Consider the cast of characters: Dan Baxter, Karen Hedlund, Marcelle Jones, Mike Krusee, Mark Muriello, Jack Opiola, Ed Regan, and Joshua Schank all on one stage. Once they finished their theological and

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-76301805384052459442009-08-04T10:50:00.017-04:002009-08-04T13:27:02.070-04:00

I distinctly remember the first time I ever went to Chicago as a 23-year-old research associate working for the American Public Transportation Association in October 1981 where I attended my first APTA annual meeting. For a young man who had grown up in small town New England with very little travel experience, Chicago was THE BIG CITY. I still remember the taxi ride to the hotel after arriving

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-16234377906679922952009-08-02T02:40:00.002-04:002009-08-02T02:52:17.844-04:00

Editor’s Note: I pitched this essay as an op-ed piece to the Washington Post and they politely declined. Perhaps you can use this 800-words-or-less op-ed in your community. -- Pat JonesPresident Bill Clinton gave an important speech on July 27 before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s inaugural conference on obesity. A highlight of the conference was the release of a report

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-72739755173269576152009-07-24T17:51:00.009-04:002009-07-25T02:38:44.221-04:00

On Tuesday, we concluded the IBTTA workshop on Incident Management, Safety and Security in Denver. There were so many excellent speakers and moderators and so many wonderful exchanges in the question and answer sessions, it’s impossible to summarize the entire meeting in a small space. Instead, I offer a few of the observations I shared with the assembled delegates at the conclusion of the

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-49125489592285229912009-07-04T11:43:00.005-04:002009-07-04T11:56:45.973-04:00

In this essay, I am suggesting that the speakers at IBTTA meetings consider abandoning the use of PowerPoint presentations. I don’t have any objection to the use of PowerPoint per se. The rare presenter can use PowerPoint in an exceptionally effective way to deliver a powerful message. However, I believe the way speakers commonly use PowerPoint is often a barrier to the principal goal of speaking

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-598747684082892722009-06-27T17:20:00.005-04:002009-06-27T17:55:59.591-04:00

I know that every member of IBTTA cares deeply about transportation and so do I. I’m concerned, however, that achieving major reform of transportation policy and funding in the US will continue to be a long, uphill battle. This impression was reinforced this week by the lack of hard news reporting on an important policy discussion on transportation.In the June 27 edition of Innovation NewsBriefs,

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-49762016996734394812009-06-20T13:36:00.004-04:002009-06-20T13:44:04.110-04:00

In today’s Washington Post, Sally Jenkins waxes poetic about Tiger Woods’ struggle for control in golf’s rain-soaked US Open at Bethpage Black in New York.“That Woods hates disarray has always been obvious from his preppy-perfect appearance,” she says. “You can see it in the neatness of his vests and slacks. He is a self-admitted control freak who even irons his new shirts, fresh out of the bag,

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-53221905848899087832009-06-19T19:52:00.009-04:002009-06-19T20:15:37.753-04:00

Wear steel tipped boots with rubberized soles. Lift with your legs and not your back or arms. Wear a reflective safety vest when working beside traffic. Look both ways before crossing the street. Wear a helmet. Don’t step out of a moving vehicle. Keep three points of contact when climbing a ladder. Don’t leave tools lying around; put them away.Safety is not one big thing…it’s a lot of little

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-17630332695503467982009-06-19T01:28:00.002-04:002009-06-19T01:38:23.515-04:00

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has written a cogent analysis of the current crisis in transportation funding in the June 18 posting to his official blog. Here’s an excerpt:“Highways are built, repaired, and maintained with payments from the Highway Trust Fund. The Fund is replenished by revenue collected from motor fuel taxes when Americans buy gas. When Fund spending in a given period

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-33973129428333181462009-06-17T20:32:00.007-04:002009-06-17T23:25:43.095-04:00

In my wrap up remarks to the Summit on “The Future of Tolling: ORT and the Path to Interoperability” in Tampa, I identified “control” as one of the underlying themes. Many speakers and conference attendees expressed concern about how much (or how little) control they would have over their own future.Here are just a few of the many control-oriented questions I heard during the Tampa conference. “

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-18897065399896754822009-06-17T12:47:00.001-04:002009-06-17T12:50:42.368-04:00

National Journal’s expert blog this week posed the question, How Can Smart Technology Drive Performance? The more detailed question is this: “There is a growing consensus among experts that our transportation system must put far greater emphasis on performance and results (and far less on funding equity and earmarks) to regain the public's trust and willingness to pay for it. What role can

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-80750590493982400432009-06-15T01:31:00.005-04:002009-06-15T02:02:15.025-04:00

The whispered sentiment in hallways and backrooms at the ORT/Interoperability Summit in Tampa this week is that IBTTA has missed the boat on interoperability since 1990...or before.Indeed, the notion that we missed the boat is perhaps the most relentlessly whispered sentiment at any IBTTA meeting I have ever attended. To paraphrase the bible, "where two or three toll professionals are gathered,

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-39477011750409450292009-06-14T08:27:00.007-04:002009-06-15T00:42:31.279-04:00

Recently I had the chance to listen in on a debate about the future of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) charging and the role that interoperability will play. In the context of the ORT and Interoperability Summit in Tampa, I thought you might enjoy reading portions of this debate. I’ve changed the names of the participants to protect their anonymity.-- Pat JonesTalker1: The concept of ubiquitous

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-86248641126296590852009-06-13T10:00:00.003-04:002009-06-13T10:04:36.071-04:00

Our much anticipated Summit, The Future of Tolling: ORT and the Path to Interoperability, June 14-16, 2009 in Tampa, FLis shaping up to be a great meeting! To enhance communication and shape meeting content, we've set up a Twitter stream so members and delegates can stay connected during the meeting. When you compose Twitter messages or “Tweets” about the meeting, please use the hashtag “#ibtta”

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-9772239684047768912009-05-16T02:16:00.005-04:002009-05-16T02:28:11.989-04:00

Recently I’ve been rummaging around in the blogosphere reading about how social media has ignited a revolution in the way associations do business. In the process, I stumbled across an essay that reminds of the debate that’s happening now between those who advocate moving to comprehensive road user charging in transportation (VMT and the like) and those who want to preserve the status quo of fuel

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-20298674219826668902009-05-15T10:24:00.001-04:002009-05-15T10:28:36.210-04:00

Jeff Shane has written a spirited defense of tolling in National Journal’s Expert Blog on Transportation. Jeff was the Under Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation in the last presidential administration and is now a partner with Hogan and Hartson LLP. He notes that there is an “essential hostility to private equity that continues to pervade U.S. transportation law.” He

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-57588949362680676362009-05-13T02:00:00.002-04:002009-05-13T02:03:26.464-04:00

Here are two thought provoking articles from the April issue of One+, the magazine of Meeting Professionals International (MPI). In “Meet Frequently, Live Longer,” Tony Carey suggests that attending industry conferences is actually good for your health. According to Tony, “A leading psychologist, Dr. Aric Sigman, a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and an associate fellow of the British

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-21290164319544013032009-05-08T14:00:00.004-04:002009-05-13T02:03:52.455-04:00

Passing along some news and impressions I got from taking part in a Transportation Transformation (T2) delegation which conducted Hill earlier this week.On Monday we sat down with DOT staff from the Innovative Finance office and had Roy Kienitz, the newly confirmed Undersecretary for Policy take part. Roy was most recently chief of staff to PA. Governor Rendell but he has past DC history as a

Tollgatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12085493253700234141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-37430680348027600452009-05-07T01:55:00.006-04:002009-05-08T16:32:21.661-04:00

In my monthly report to members on May 5, I noted that Congressman Jim Oberstar had propelled IBTTA and tolling to the center of the debate on how to fund America’s future highway system. How did he do it? In a hearing on April 28, Mr. Oberstar suggested that we as a nation should seriously consider moving to a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) charging system to fund highways and that such a system

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-65868494573377568302009-03-27T04:37:00.003-04:002009-03-27T05:06:38.359-04:00

On Wednesday I attended a CEO Symposium led by consultant Seth Kahan. Seth has facilitated a couple of meetings for IBTTA, including our board meeting in January and our conference planning meeting in Plano, Texas last July. At this week's meeting, 14 executives from diverse associations met to discuss leadership during economic uncertainty. The CEOs in the meeting cited these trends:Meeting

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293626391835705103.post-82823694694313094862009-03-27T03:57:00.000-04:002009-03-27T04:03:59.039-04:00

You might be new to blogging and feel a bit intimidated about contributing. Don't worry about it -- there's a first time for everything. So I thought I would offer a step-by-step guide to help you if you want to post a comment to this blog. It can be challenging if you’ve never blogged before. And the procedure for posting comments may vary from blog to blog.This is what you should do if you want

Pat Jonesnoreply@blogger.com0