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The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and Minister responsible for Quebec, and Mr Michel Després, Quebec Minister of Transport and Minister responsible for the National Capital Region, are pleased to announce that their governments have committed to contributing $16.5 million to innovative public transit initiatives as part of the Urban Transportation Showcase Program (UTSP) in Gatineau, Montreal and Quebec City.

These contributions will help put electric buses into service in Old Quebec, and in Gatineau, implement various measures designed to make public transit more attractive and user-friendly in a corridor that will accommodate a combination of regular buses and hybrid diesel-electric buses. In Montreal, the Société de transport de Montréal is also planning to put hybrid buses into service.

“Canada’s New Government is proud to be working with all levels of government and transit authorities to encourage Canadians to incorporate public transit into their lifestyle. This will be a legacy for future generations,” said Minister Cannon. ” Today’s announcement is a step towards making public transit more energy-efficient and more attractive to riders.”

“These projects are perfectly in line with the objectives of Quebec’s Public Transit Policy, to which we have introduced an innovative component, and the Climate Change Policy, which were tabled in June 2006,” said Mr. Després. “The Public Transit Policy sets out the objective to increase public transit ridership by 8 per cent by 2012, and we are certain that we will meet this objective. I am also very pleased that one of these exceptionally innovative projects will be implemented in the National Capital Region.”

“Once again, Québec is demonstrating its avant-gardism in the area of new technology,” added the Honourable Josée Verner, federal Minister responsible for the Québec region. “This initiative highlights the importance of environmental issues to the people of Québec, and shows our Government’s commitment to implement solutions that will improve air quality and protect our environment.”

For Benoît Pelletier, Minister responsible for the Outaouais Region and MP for Chapleau, this announcement is yet another sign of the importance of the environment issue in the region. “The announcement of the hybrid bus in our city, and the Urban Transportation Showcase Program for all of Quebec and Canada emphasizes the importance of the environment on our daily lives. Residents of the Outaouais Region will have access to efficient, environmentally sound urban transportation services.”

In Gatineau and Montreal, the total cost of the projects is estimated at $19.7 million. The partners will contribute the following amounts:

• $6.4 million from the Quebec government;
• up to $4 million from the federal government;
• $2.2 million from the Société de transport de l’Outaouais (STO);
• $3.2 million from the Société de transport de Montréal (STM); and
• $3.9 million from the Société de financement des infrastructures locales, which is co-funded by the Governments of Canada and Quebec.

In Quebec City, the total cost of the project is estimated at $12.2 million. The partners will contribute the following amounts:

• $4.1 million over two years from the Quebec government;
• up to $2 million from the federal government; and
• $6.1 million from Quebec City.

Funding for these pilot projects is contingent on the signing of contribution agreements.

UTSP funds community showcase programs that highlight and assess ways of reducing transportation-related greenhouse gases. The program was developed following consultations with provincial, territorial and municipal partners, among others. Following a Request for Qualification issued across the country, eight municipalities were selected to present their strategies for facing these urban challenges.

Tags: bus transit, public transport, utsp, canada, quebec, gatineau, montreal, municipal

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The Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario and the City of Sault Ste. Marie today marked the completion of the new transportation corridor leading to the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge.

The Honourable Donna Cansfield, Ontario’s Transportation Minister and Sault Ste. Marie’s Mayor John Rowswell officially opened the transportation corridor. A total of $11.2 million was shared between the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario. The City of Sault Ste. Marie also contributed $1.4 million for construction, as well as $6.3 million for the purchase of required property.

“Sault Ste. Marie is the 9th busiest Canada-United States crossing and Canada’s new government is proud that this route could finally be completed,” said Minister Cannon. ‘”This transportation corridor is designed to ease local congestion, which will reduce emissions into the air and improve access between Ontario and Michigan.”

“Sault Ste. Marie is an important northern gateway. More than 130,000 commercial trucks carry about $3.5 billion of goods across the International Bridge every year,” said Cansfield. “The new truck route will reduce delays and save commercial carriers about $1 million a year.”

The new truck route, which will also be shared by cars, was designed to ease local congestion and improve access to the International Bridge connecting Ontario and Michigan. The new transportation corridor connects Highway 17 with the International Bridge via the Second Line Road and Hudson Street, and provides a more direct connection to Interstate 75 in Michigan. Trucks will bypass Sault Ste. Marie’s downtown area. The new route will reduce travel time for trucks and eliminate several 90-degree turns, making roads safer for residents of Sault Ste. Marie.

“This long awaited transportation corridor moves trucks out of the downtown area, allows traffic on the west side of the city to move quickly to the city’s centre, and lets us immediately advance Sault Ste. Marie as a multimodal transportation hub,” said Mayor Rowswell.

In the 2006 Federal Budget, Canada’s new government has committed an unprecedented $16.5 billion over the next four years for provincial, territorial and municipal infrastructure, including $2.4 billion over the next five years from the Highways and Border Infrastructure Fund.

This year, the Government of Ontario is investing more than $1.4 billion in highway improvements through its five-year ReNew Ontario infrastructure investment plan. The Ontario government has also invested an additional $400 million under Move Ontario, which municipalities may use for improvements to municipal roads and bridges.

Transport companies from Canada, the USA but also as far as Asia and Europe will love the significant time gains these new infrastructures make possible.

Manufactures and consumers, on both sides of the border, can now expect faster border crossings and much more efficient transit alternatives.

Everybody agreed there was a congestion problem and in no small measure, it’s been properly addressed. Another job well done!

Tags: transportation corridor, sault ste. marie, ontario, canada, usa, transit

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The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has a new Secretary of Transportation and it’s important to get to know this leading figure who is now heading all of the country’s most ambitions and much needed transportation projects.

Meet Ms Mary E. Peters, the new Secretary of Transportation, at the DOT:

“She was nominated by President George W. Bush on September 5, 2006, and confirmed by the US Senate as the 15th Secretary of Transportation on September 30, 2006, after spending more than two decades crafting solutions to our nation’s toughest transportation challenges.

Secretary Peters brings a unique perspective to her role as the nation’s transportation chief, having spent her career working on transportation issues in the private and public sectors, including leading both federal and state transportation agencies. This hands-on experience allows her to understand and appreciate the real-life aspects of planning, building and operating transportation systems on local, regional and state levels.

Over her 20-plus years in transportation, Secretary Peters has earned a solid reputation as an innovative problem solver, a force for safety and a strong advocate for effective use of taxpayer dollars. As Secretary of Transportation, she intends to use these same skills to tackle today’s most pressing challenges including fighting congestion across all modes of transportation, improving safety and addressing strains on traditional sources of transportation funding.

She is responsible for maintaining a safe, reliable and efficient transportation system, while leading an agency with almost 60,000 employees and a $61.6 billion budget that oversees air, maritime and surface transportation missions.

Prior to joining President Bush’s Cabinet, Peters worked in Phoenix, AZ, as the national director for transportation policy and consulting at HDR, Inc., a major engineering firm. She was responsible for building a management consulting practice and formulating public policy initiatives for the firm’s transportation program.

In 2001, the President asked Peters to lead the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). As FHWA Administrator from 2001 to 2005, she placed special emphasis on finding new ways to invest in road and bridge construction, including innovative public-private partnerships that help build roads faster and at less expense. She also was a strong advocate for using new technology to reduce construction time, saving taxpayer money and resulting in safer, longer-lasting roads and highways.

From 1985 to 2001, she served in the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). During her tenure, Peters worked her way up through the ranks as a contract administrator, deputy director for administration, and deputy director. In 1998, then-Governor Jane Hull appointed her director of the agency. While in office, she was recognized as the Most Influential Person in Arizona Transportation by the Arizona Business Journal.

Secretary Peters received the 2004 National Woman of the Year Award from the Women’s Transportation Seminar, a national organization of transportation professionals. She chaired the Standing Committee on Planning and the Asset Management Task Force for the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHTO), and was a member of the AASHTO 2001 Reauthorization Steering Committee.”

NavSite.com would like to -officially- congratulate Ms Peters on her new appointment while also wishing her and her team lots of success!

Tags: mary e. peters, dot, appointment, transportation projects

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SwedeTrack System is a public Swedish company which has designed the FlyWay, a technically advanced system for automatically controlled beamcarried traffic, for transportation of people and goods.

This suspended rail system allegedly has many practical uses for the masses that must commute in cities flooded with cars from the urban sprawl.

To better understand the use of a FlyWay, the SwedeTrack people have provided some background insight:

SwedeTrack has in detail studied how a good transportation system for people and for goods should function, and what attributes it should have, in order to be of optimal use in an urban environmenet.

The cheapest and quickest way to produce a functioning system is by further development of the “SIPEM” system developed by Siemens in Germany. We at SwedeTrack have chosen to call this complete system of ours for “FLYWAY”

Since Siemens has chosen to no longer promote its own system, SwedeTrack has developed this by itself. Thus, FLYWAY is a genuinely Swedish project.

The details that distinguish “FLYWAY”® from other existing and proposed systems are:

• the beamcars can be equipped with lifts
• the beamcars can be equipped with swiveling functions
• the system is designed for scheduled transports, individual transports and transportation of goods, intermixed
• the system has computer-controlled functions that allow the size and complexity of the network to grow indefinitely
• the system uses addressing functions based on that of the Internet

Since February 2004, SwedeTrack System Inc. is a public company and offers shares (Swedish only) to interested parties.

The inventors of this engaging urban transportation system have also caught our attention with this statement: “To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.” — in our view, when two distinct ideas meet for the first time, they inevitably give way to a third idea which is, by its very nature, something new.

On a lighter note, the term “FlyWay” is presented as a registered trademark but our search at the USPTO yielded no relevant results. Perhaps it’s registered in Sweden.

Tags: sweden, swedish flyway, swedetrack, suspended rail, mass transit, alternative transport, europe

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You’ve heard about the metro, especially if you live in a densely populated western city. But what about the MiniMetro? Is the concept new to you?

Well, a European company called Leitner has developed an innovative MiniMetro solution for conveying less considerable number of people in an unmanned capsule moving on fixed rails.

In their own words, the MiniMetro is dubbed an “Intelligent people mover systems for local transport services”.

Defined as a “light rail system” for its agility, space efficiency and easy integration within the urban context, the Minimetro constitutes the most appropriate solution for predominantly historic cities where a “regular” metro system is impractical. Furthermore, the MiniMetro can be setup to link less populated areas with the main metro lines.

Here’s a comprehensive description of the MiniMetro system:

“LEITNER has developed an intelligent solution for local public transport services – the MiniMetro®, an automatic people mover for short and medium-distance operations.

This APM is designed for use as the primary means of transport in towns and small cities and as a transit system for park+ride services or links to busy locations like shopping centers, universities or interchanges.

The LEITNER MiniMetro® offers outstanding flexibility for integration within the urban infrastructure. The compact design of the cars means a minimum footprint for the system as a whole and optimum harmony with existing buildings and structures.

The APM technology also handles demanding routing requirements, with such features as a 12% hill-climbing capability, and the availability of overhead guideways or underground sections.

The APM operates with its own guideway and is available in two versions – with the cars permanently attached to the haul rope or with cars that detach automatically.”

Here’s how the Minimetro works, technically:

The Minimetro system usually consists of 25 cars accommodating up to 50 passengers each. The cars run on rubber wheels along a pair of steel tracks.

The cars are not self-propelled. Instead, they are hooked for traction to a steel chain rope that is driven by an electric motor. In addition, because the cars run on rubber wheels, the system’s noise level is below normal environmental values.

The cars move in sequence at a frequency of under a minute and for this reason, the system is labelled as “semi-continuous”.

When a MiniMetro car reaches the end of the line, it is rotated by an inversion platform so that it can resume its run in the opposite direction.

Leitner also offers like-minded transport solutions, such as:

• Aerial tramways
• Funicular ropeways
• Bicable and tricable ropeways
• Gondola ropeways
• Pulse gondola ropeways
• Detachable chairlifts
• Fixed-grip chairlifts
• Surface lifts
• Inclined lifts

Other companies operated by the Leitner Group include Prinoth for snowgroomers and Leitwind for directdrive and high efficiency wind turbines.

Tags: minimetro, leitner, prinoth, leitwind, wind turbines, aerial tramways, transportation alternatives

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