The Toronto Transit Commission (ON) wants to start charging customers for using its next-vehicle text-messaging system. TTC proposes to charge customers 15 cents per message when the system expands from streetcars to buses this fall. Under the proposal, the first two texts within a 24-hour period would be free; customers would only pay if theyRead… Read more »
Metra (IL) may have double-charged some of its riders last week according to a statement on its website. Up to 1,500 customers who used a credit or debit card at station ticket windows on June 27 may have affected. The Chicago-area commuter rail provider is working with the credit card processing company to reverse theRead… Read more »
Caltrain (CA) plans to mount cameras on the front and back of every train to record accidents and suicides. There have been nine suicides along the commuter rail tracks so far this year, and 11 in 2010. “I had one last year,” a veteran engineer told the San Francisco Chronicle. “A guy jumped off theRead… Read more »
With this post I want to provide a quick update on two firms I know and advise: Triumfant and Invincea. Both have been mentioned by me on this site before and if you are a security professional I bet you have already spent time learning about them. Both firms are making a positive difference inRead… Read more »
We have just completed a redesign of the CTOvision.com site. The new design introduces more white-space, larger fonts, bigger images and a smoother blending of colors meant to make your time on the site more fun while helping you discover new information. If you consume our feed via RSS, E-mail or from other sites pleaseRead… Read more »
My friends over at Code for America have created this awesome twitter visualization for July 4th. It’s a reminder that you’ve got to love what you do, and probably no more so if you are trying to help governments reinvent themselves. Email & Share: Original post
Although there is lots of social media activity around government, technically speaking it’s currently more just ‘Gov 1.5′ rather than ‘Gov 2.0′. This is because while there is more interaction online, via blogs and twitter et al, the core processes themselves are still entirely decentralized, in terms of the decision-making model that determines who actuallyRead… Read more »
The purpose of a Maturity Model is to provide a ‘target’ for business transformation projects to aim for. In short measure where you are currently, identify where you need to be, plan a route to get there. Therefore the ultimate goal of an Open Government transformation exercise is to attain a Level 5 ranking, inRead… Read more »
On June 21st Ontario Ombudsman André Marin called on the government of Ontario to embrace the worldwide trend toward open government, noting that many of his investigations of government organizations revealed a lack of transparency and accountability to Ontarians. On June 22nd we held our first webinar, Open Government Canada, that introduced how the trendRead… Read more »
Toronto is another city pioneering Open Government. They operate a 311 portal with an accompanying Twitter service channel, as part of their Open Government initiative to improve Civic Engagement. To support this they also offer their Open Data initiative, a project discussed in more detail in the white paper ‘Open Data, Open City‘ from theRead… Read more »