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The Ambassador Bridge, linking Windsor to Detroit, is privately owned by Michigan-based businessman Matty Moroun. He profits from a generous 60 million dollars annually, in toll revenues and it’s no big surprise since this bridge serves North America’s busiest trade corridor, handling 500 million dollars daily.

So the Windsor-Detroit link is very important, for both Canada and the United States but there’s a huge problem. As it stands, the bridge is a bidirectional traffic nightmare featuring ongoing bottlenecks and congestion that doesn’t even spare the trucking industry which is hurting badly from this state of affairs.

In short, the clogged Windsor-Detroit crossing is a heavy barrier to both trade and travel.

Matty Moroun knows this and he’s planning another “twin-span” bridge to be erected just a few meters from the current 79-years-old Ambassador Bridge but his plans aren’t moving fast enough so the DRIC has studied alternative locations to build a new bridge, intended to resolve the massive traffic problems at the border, on both sides.

After evaluating several routes, the DRIC is said to have chosen a preferential corridor that spans from Brighton Beach, on Canada’s side of the Detroit River and lands just northeast of Zug Island, on the US side, to then travel into a plaza located in an industrial area of Detroit known as Delray.

So who’s part of DRIC?

Decisive public partners such as Transport Canada, the Ontarian Ministry of Transportation, the US Federal Highway Administration as well as the Michigan Department of Transportation are in charge of the Detroit River International Crossing Project (DRIC) binational border transportation partnership group.

The entire end-to-end project, including the Windsor-Essex Parkway, is anticipated to cost 5 billion dollars and create up to 25,000 person years of employment — this is very good news for both Windsor and Detroit workers. The final say on the new bridge’s location will however be officially announced sometime in the summer of 2008 by officials from both sides of the border.

Get a feel for the whole project with the following images from the WEParkway web site:

It’s important to note that Canada is experiencing its second-longest period of economic expansion in history. That’s mainly why Canada is investing in such modern, world-class infrastructure projects in order to foster a stronger economy, a cleaner environment and hopefully safer, more prosperous communities.

While the new bridge isn’t built yet, commuters and truckers on both sides of the border will benefit from a massively upgraded crossborder highway transportation system.

Tags: ambassador bridge, windsor, detroit, bridge, north american, trade, travel, border, prosperity

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The entire supply chain is under great financial stress as the spot price of WTI crude oil rose steadily to over US$110 per barrel, on March 13th of 2008 — a record-setting price.

While the price for WTI crude oil is expected to average near $100 per barrel through the rest of this year, transport companies and everybody else getting their supply through their services are bracing for the effects of higher fuel prices during the summer season, defined as the period from April 1st to September 30th.

Pricewise, let’s start with the regular grade gasoline retail prices, which averaged $2.93 per gallon last summer (of 2007) and are projected to average $3.54 per gallon during the current driving season.

The trucking business is going to be hit even harder as diesel fuel prices, which averaged $2.85 per gallon last summer, are projected to average $3.73 this summer.

In fact, the monthly average gasoline price at the pump is projected to peak at just over $3.60 per gallon in June while the monthly average diesel price is expected to peak at just over $3.90 per gallon in April.

These rather scary retail price projections reflect higher prices for the refiners’ average acquisition cost of crude oil, projected to average close to $97 per barrel, up from about $67 per barrel last summer which account for a hefty $30 price hike, per barrel. Furthermore, strong world distillate demand growth, especially in Europe and Asia, will do nothing to help the situation domestically, in America.

It is important to note, however, that even if the US national average monthly gasoline price comes to peak around $3.60 per gallon this summer, it’s entirely possible that prices, at some point, will cross the $4 per gallon threshold, severely hurting the transport industry and those who depend on it.

Countless consumers may be forced to reconsider driving their cars at all and the same kind of dilemma may happen for transport operators of all sizes as well as petroleum-based product manufacturers.

Transportation and logistics companies, especially in America, need to plan (and provision lots of “emergency money”) right now for this summer’s potential fuel price explosion.

Tags: gas, fuel, wti crude oil, oil, diesel, petroleum, pump, america, usa, transport, logistics, summer

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Back in the 1960’s, taking the plane was a “special event” where the passengers were treated like kings, from the moment they entered the departure airport to the moment they left the arrival one.

For instance, the meals that Air France served to it’s Montreal-Paris liaison passengers were prepared by the very prestigious Ritz-Carlton, on Sherbrooke Street, in Montreal. If you’ve flown this Air France lately, you know it’s not as glitzy anymore, even if you fly in the more expensive business class.

So things have changed in the airlines business and not everyone agrees it’s for the better.

Companies like Air Canada, after being sold to American interests, lost interest in the less traveled routes, such as Atlantic Canada, Quebec and Northern Canada, thus severely penalizing smaller communities which had, under Canadian management, been decently served — globalization, privatization and shareholder greed have apparently trumped over all basic consumer satisfaction obligations.

Air travel horror stories abound.

From the fact that it’s still complicated to deal with the airlines, to buy tickets or worse, to get customer service, to the continuous stream of mismanagement imbroglios (think about the luggage nightmares), many modern day airlines have dumbed down their service to the point where it’s not even close to what their marketing promises.

For air passengers, the bread and butter of the airlines, the multiplication of fees (for everything, really), the grossly exagerated security paranoia, the flight delays (with little or no compensation to the ticket holder), the arrogant attitude from the airline personnel and the plastic-like food served on flights (when anything is served, at all) taking the plane has become a pain more than a “generally pleasant experience”.

Regular air travelers are now even attempting to opt-out of today’s air travel madness by asking their companies to buy sophisticated “always-on” teleconferencing solutions to minimize the air commuting back and forth from the various company locations — in itself, this is a good thing but still, it’s precipitated by the fact that taking the plane, for many people, is not exactly a walk in the park, at least not anymore (because it used to be much easier, more expensive but easier nonetheless).

Some airlines specialize in high-yield market niches like the C-level business travel and that’s fine but their ads feature “great service” as a plus… shouldn’t that be a bare minimum for even the “regular” flights?

While the airline industry isn’t too bothered with customer satisfaction, a study published earlier this week by American universities reveal that over 25% of the flights were late, in 2007. Accordingly, the number of traveler complaints filed was up by a whopping 60% last year, making it the worst year for air traffic, in America, ever!

Even more preoccupying is the fact that experts in airline customer satisfaction predict the current situation will continue to worsen as the price of tickets, the fees and the barriers to free movement of travelers continue to mount while, at the very same time, the service level continues to drop.

This being said, let’s keep in mind that the current state of affairs could translate into a unique opportunity for venturing airline entrepreneurs with an astute sense for customer satisfaction.

Tags: airlines, air travel, planes, customer satisfaction, passengers, great service, tickets, fees, security

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The number of elderly drivers will skyrocket across the United States, over the next 20 years. That could pose significant problems for states concerned about highway safety, according to William Neikirk of the Chicago Tribune.

Slightly over half the states have taken steps to deal with safety problems posed by older drivers but there’s growing concern that as the Baby Boom population retires, states might have to do more to prevent additional age-related accidents.

The Government Accountability Office (GOA) cited the issue in a report, in April of 2007, as a looming problem that will mean more public expenditures to help the aging Boomers stay safe, on the roads.

For those who had lost count, here’s a reminder: the oldest Boomers will turn 61, this year.

“Older driver safety issues will become increasingly significant in the future because older adults represent the fastest-growing segment of the American population”, said the GAO. “By 2030, the number of licensed drivers aged 65 and older is expected to nearly double to about 57 million”.

Nifty ideas like multigenerational households, customized public transit, home office employment alternatives, intelligently integrated proximity services, elderly-friendly neighborhood designs, drivers retraining as well as safety-enhancing car technologies might help deal with this influx of Baby Boomers driving from point A to point B.

The states that still haven’t tackled this important demographics issue should look into it promptly before they’re overwhelmed with requests they don’t know how to properly handle.

Tags: baby boomers, elderly drivers, gao, states, population, driving

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The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has granted, on March 21st, 2007, a waiver to allow for the testing of electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes on BNSF and NS locomotives and rail cars.

This new tested braking technology could significantly enhance rail safety and efficiency. It offers major benefits in freight train handling, car maintenance, fuel savings and network capacity.

With the current braking system, developed back in the 1870’s, freight train cars brake individually, at the speed of the air pressure moving from car to car, along trains that are often well over a mile in length.

This conventional braking contributes to excessive in-train forces, challenges in train handling, longer stopping distances, and safety risks of prematurely depleting air brake reservoirs. These problems are greatly reduced in the ECP brake mode of operation,
during which all cars brake simultaneously, driven by an electronic signal.

ECP systems simultaneouslyapply and release freight car airbrakes:

• Through a hard-wired electronic pathway down the length of the train;
• No delay, and no run-in of slack from the rear of the train.

Joseph Boardman, FRA’s administrator, said he believes the technology can prevent accidents, in part because ECP brakes allow the engineer to “back off” braking effort to match track grade and curvature, without completely releasing the brakes — with these significant added benefits:

• Saves fuel and reduces emissions;
• Reduces wear / stress on wheels and brake shoes;
• Reduces chance of run-away from overheating of the brake shoe / wheel interface.

Futhermore, ECP brakes provide a tool to manage in-train forces and reduce train handling derailments as well as reduce chances of runaway trains.

The FRA said the brakes are designed to allow trains to travel up to 3,500 miles without inspections which is more than double the distance normally allowed by the government.

The agency adds that the waiver allows it to gather data to be used in developing a proposed rulemaking on ECP brakes.

Several conditions were placed by the FRA on the waiver approval, including requirements that the railroads (1) clearly define a process for handling brake problems discovered en route, (2) ensure that qualified individuals perform ECP brake inspections and that (3) they provide appropriate training to crew members.

Tags: ecp, ecp braking, pneumatic brakes, train brakes, braking system, fra, bnsf, ns

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