May 2018
From the President
Greetings! the ASCE Automated People Mover Conference in Tampa was a great success. There were eleven presentations by ATRA members. In addition we presented the ATRA Award to J. Edward Anderson (see following story).

At its meeting following the conference, the ASCE APM Standards Committee dealt with ballot results and comments and then moved the change to the Brick Wall Stop criterion forward for inclusion in the 2018 edition (see following story).

The big event this month is the 2018 Smart Driving Car Summit May 16 - 17 at Princeton University (see link below).
As always, enjoy reading!

Best regards,
Peter Muller, ATRA President
Upcoming Events
ATRA membership is an opportunity for you and your organization to contribute to a better world by leveraging advanced transit to improve mobility and accessibility. Membership works best for those that get involved and contribute.
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ATRA News
ASCE APM STANDARDS COMMITTEE ACCEPTS ALTERNATIVE TO BRICK WALL STOP
A recent ballot to remove an onerous requirement for ATN systems with offline stations and less than 25 passengers received 24 yes-votes, two abstentions and zero no-votes from ASCE APM Standards Committee members. 

Dr. J. Edward Anderson Receives ATRA Award
ATRA instituted the Award for Outstanding Contributions to Advanced Transit in honor of individuals who, by their work and commitment, have contributed to the advancement of technology, to the dissemination of knowledge and to public acceptance of advanced transit.

History of the Advanced Transit Association (ATRA) Year by Year (14)
by J. Edward Anderson, first ATRA President.

1989 – The Fourteenth Year.

Other News
FTA OKs West Virginia's rail safety oversight program
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) yesterday announced that it has certified West Virginia's transit-rail state safety oversight (SSO) program. 

Federal law requires states with transit-rail systems to get their SSO programs certified by April 15, 2019. To achieve certification, an SSO must meet statutory requirements, including establishing an agency that's financially and legally independent from the transit agencies it oversees.

This Startup Wants To Replace Cars (And Subways) With Elevated Pods
Transit X’s plan would set up fast-moving, solar-powered personal transit units to whisk you anywhere you wanted to go

Route, location of stns for PRTS to be finalized by next month
Thane: The first phase of the personal rapid transport system (PRTS) will soon be implemented in Thane and Mumbra and the routes and locations of the stations will be finalized by next month, said officials. The PRTS will run on feeder routes of the Metro IV and city Metro

Pod cars to connect from your area in Thane till jetties
TMC plans to extend Personal Rapid Transit System to Mumbra along with Thane in the first phase

 
Lake District bosses look at driverless pod as possible transport for national park
Visitors to the Lake District will be able to get a glimpse of the future when a driverless ‘pod’ makes its debut in the national park.

The self-driving vehicle is being examined as a possible way of transporting people round the area.

2getthere Shows First Bluewaters Island GRT Vehicle At UITP MENA Conference
In collaboration with Meraas, the Dubai-based holding company behind some of the city’s most popular urban destinations, Dutch technology firm 2getthere officially revealed the first Group Rapid Transit autonomous vehicle that will be used at Bluewaters. The new vehicle was showcased during the UITP MENA Transport Congress and Exhibition, the most attended public transport event in the region. It is the first time that the public in Dubai will be able to get acquainted with this futuristic public transport solution.

Abu Dhabi’s Miral forecasts 10% increase in footfall at Yas Island this year
Miral Asset Management, the Abu Dhabi-based developer behind Yas Island’s main leisure attractions, forecasts a 10 per cent increase in footfall to the island in 2018 compared with last year, as it completes 50 per cent of the entertainment destination and prepares to roll out a combined ticketing structure in June.

UITP DUBAI
At the upcoming UITP Mena congress and exhibition, 2getthere will be displaying its 3rd generation GRT autonomous vehicle. Accommodating up to 24 passengers, the vehicle will be featured first in the Bluewaters Island development by Meraas. “Experience from other exhibitions has taught us that there is nothing better than seeing and feeling to understand what the new generation vehicle can contribute to the accessibility of a development. 

Brussels Airport to test self-driving bus in mixed traffic
BELGIUM: Flemish local transport operator De Lijn and Brussels Airport Co have approved a two-stage pilot project which could see a self-driving electric bus operating in mixed traffic.. 

NTU Singapore to test autonomous vehicles on the NTU Smart Campus
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), SMRT Services and 2getthere have joined forces to deploy fully automated Group Rapid Transit (GRT) autonomous vehicles (AV) on the NTU Smart Campus by 2019. 

NTU to have driverless bus shuttle service running campuswide by 2019  
SINGAPORE — By the end of next year, the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will have an autonomous shuttle service serving the entire campus.

MENA CONGRESS SPEAKERS SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS: DENNIS MICA FROM 2GETTHERE
As we approach the MENA Transport Congress & Exhibition (23-25 April) in Dubai, our programme, panel sessions and list of speakers and participants is rapidly taking shape. Over the next few weeks we will be sitting down with several of our Congress speakers and panellists to get their thoughts on MENA, public transport and the industry going forward.

Regulations required:
safety drives autonomous
vehicles market.
Many vehicles today already possess advanced driver assistance mechanisms. The
prospect of increasing the automation levels of vehicles raises complex questions
concerning accountability and liability when accidents occur. While the universal, full
automation of vehicles is expected to result in enhanced safety for all traffic
participants, the foreseeable future will hold a mix of fully autonomous, partially
automated, and manually driven vehicles. The sober reality is that autonomous
vehicles - often presented by the industry as a panacea - may not necessarily
contribute to smarter cities, and that their relative safety levels may not be
competitive with present-day public transport. 


A "MUST READ"
Greenlink and GreenPods
To find out what the future of Greenville’s transportation may look like, we went to an Automated Transit Network (ATN) Feasibility, Mobility Options, & GreenPods workshop with local transportation experts.

The above links are to articles that appear relevant to advanced transit but no guarantee is made as to their accuracy and no verification of the integrity of the associated websites has been made.

Editorial comments are in italics.
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