Lawmakers support digital ads for Big Blue Bus

The California state senate approved a bill that will allow Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus (CA) to test digital advertising on the sides of its buses. City officials believe that the ads could generate $8 million in revenues a year, but opponents claim that the moving billboards could distract other drivers and cause accidents. “AdvertisingRead… Read more »

Database Research Pioneer Michael Stonebreaker

I just received an update from data base research and technology pioneer Michael Stonebreaker and will be using insights from the conversation to inform a few coming posts here at CTOvision.com (including a coming one on his newest pursuit, VoltDB), but first wanted to provide a digital introduction to Michael. I first met him inRead… Read more »

OC Transpo warns against unofficial tweets

Ottawa’s OC Transpo (ON) is warning riders not to rely on unofficial Twitter accounts that provide service information and status updates. Unlike systems in other Canadian cities, OC Transpo does not have an official Twitter account and riders have taken things into their own hands. One Twitter account (@OCTranspoAlerts) reposts service updates from OC Transpo’sRead… Read more »

WMATA hires social media manager

As part of its efforts to improve customer communications, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (DC) hired a social media manager. Brian Anderson joins Metro on August 1; he spoke with Washington Post reporter Dana Hedgpeth (@postmetrogirl) about his new position. Some excerpts from the conversation: DH: Why is it important to do social mediaRead… Read more »

Civil Servants Cut through the Red Tape and Share Government Forward

‘Why not?!’ is the motto of Open Government Places. Open Government Places allows civil servants to cut through the red tape, join forces, and share government forward. This project is called Deelstoel in Dutch (‘share chair’) and invites civil servants to ‘hack’ the government and share their workplaces. Government offices are invited to reserve aRead… Read more »

LexisNexis at AALL 2011 in Philadelphia

LexisNexis is proud to support the 104th Meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 23 – 26, with special programs, scholarships, events, and exhibits. Make plans to visit the LexisNexis at Booth #526 in Philadelphia, where knowledgeable product representatives will demonstrate LexisNexis® products and services. Come see what we haveRead… Read more »

Calgarians connect with new card

The people have spoken and Calgary Transit’s (AB) new smart card has a name: Connect. Customers submitted more than 5,000 names for consideration, and the top choices were put to a vote. Connect handily beat the other two finalists (Energy and Range). The Connect card is scheduled to launch in June 2012. Original post

Tales from the Road: Gov’t in Turmoil Across Three States

Last week on vacation, I traveled across three states before spending time with friends and family on a lake in Michigan. While the great majority of my time, of course, was spent kayaking, canoeing, swimming, sightseeing, and eating much more than I should have, it was still hard to avoid the way residents of eachRead… Read more »

VTA launches WiFi on light rail

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (CA) launched a 4G wireless network on its light-rail service last week, making VTA the first mass transit agency in the world to offer customers an all-4G network. “As the transit provider of Silicon Valley, it is most appropriate that VTA be the first in providing our passengers withRead… Read more »