Yearly Archives: 2011

Click Here to Uninstall, Government – #gov20

Can we change the way we *do* Government? Bill Eggers and Devon Halley write for Governing on What Geeks can Teach Government. Great article and continues the great work from Eggers, Halley and Deloitte. The idea for “Beta Government” has been kicked around before and I would love to see the idea flushed out aRead… Read more »

Muni buses to get security upgrade

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (CA) plans to upgrade security cameras on 358 buses to improve reliability and to add new features like real-time monitoring. Many of Muni’s existing surveillance cameras are over 10 years old and difficult to maintain. “What we currently have is very staff intensive,” said spokeswoman Kristen Holland. “There areRead… Read more »

Staten Island Ferry to test LNG

The Staten Island Ferry (NY) will convert one boat from diesel fuel to liquefied natural gas with funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Ferry Boat Discretionary Program. “Converting the Staten Island Ferry to liquefied natural gas is a win-win-win: It will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, lower operating costs and help the environment,”Read… Read more »

Real-time info, ITS improvements come to Kalamazoo

The City of Kalamazoo (MI) is making a series of transit ITS improvements for Metro Transit and its Metro County Connect paratransit service. “Our ITS will use a minimum of 18 different technologies,” transportation director Bill Schomisch told the city commissioners. “Bus schedules will be streamlined. People with visual impairments will be able to tellRead… Read more »

Happy Birthday! GovSM.com turns 1

Wow, it’s been exactly one year since Ben Smith at Politico was kind enough to write a blog post about my website on his blog at Poltico. Clearly this has been a year full of social media firsts in politics, and I still disagree with Ben’s statement that “it’s not clear that many of theseRead… Read more »

Hampton Roads Tide debuts on Friday

Hampton Roads Transit’s The Tide, the first light-rail system in Virginia, will open to the public on Friday and begin carrying paying customers on Monday. To help inaugurate the new service, HRT employees and local residents will serve as Tide Guides, distributing schedules and showing customers how to use the ticket machines. Joining them willRead… Read more »

Carpooling for the masses

Zimride, which started as a carpooling network for college campuses in 2007, is ready to go mainstream. To attract new users, the company has set up what it calls “sponsored routes,” such as Los Angeles to San Francisco, and is offering a $20 bonus to drivers who sell seats in their vehicles at a predeterminedRead… Read more »

Hackers post personal info for BART police

Continuing their cyber-war against Bay Area Rapid Transit (CA), hackers broke into the website for the union representing BART’s police force and published personal information for 102 officers. “These people are criminals and we’re going to forward this information to the FBI,” said union president Jesse Sekhon. “These people need to be brought to justice.Read… Read more »