Selected riders can add value to SmarTrip cards online

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (DC) is testing a feature that will enable riders to add value to their SmarTrip cards online. The pilot includes 5,000 riders, including 50 recruited via Twitter. Riders can add between $10 and $200 online but, as Greater Greater Washington notes, the system cannot instantly update the card balance.Read… Read more »

Public financing, Twitter town hall lobbying, a fundraiser abroad, and more political law links

PUBLIC FUNDING STORY. Roll Call. “Obama’s success has set the stage for a 2012 campaign in which serious contenders must raise hundreds of millions of dollars more than public financing provides, meaning the fund will only benefit dark-horse candidates who have little money and little chance of winning a general election.” NEW REPORT ON PUBLICRead… Read more »

NENA holds annual conference with a continued focus on Next Generation 911

Deltek Sr. Analyst Jeff Webster reports. This year, Minneapolis played host to the National Emergency Number Association’s Annual Conference. Like previous years, the conference provided attendees with information and education around issues challenging public safety answering points (PSAPs) and emergency dispatchers. Sessions covered a variety of themes including accessibility, education, GIS and next generation 911Read… Read more »

What Is A WBS?

Great question from Bill today about what a WBS is and how it’s used in planning project scope: Hello Josh Please clarify something for me. I am only into chapter 7 of WBS Coach so if it is explained later please forgive me. From what I have read so far it seems that the WBSRead… Read more »

Metro-North gives quiet cars a try

Last month MTA Metro-North Railroad (NY) joined NJ TRANSIT to launch First In, Last Out, a program to designate quiet cars on commuter rail trains serving Hoboken station. If that experiment works out, Metro-North will begin a quiet car trial on the New Haven, Harlem, and Hudson lines. While quiet car programs tend to beRead… Read more »

Stepping It Up

When thinking about new areas for research or working on a new project there are a few factors that are worth considering. At the Make it Local event, Jon Kingsbury advised we should be looking into services that are shaped with people in mind, as this will mean gaining the maximum use from applied data.Read… Read more »

Michigan communities join other cities, states in banning electronic communication during public meetings

Tweet Print PDF Tweeting, texting, blogging and answering email are all activities that have become ubiquitous over the course of the day. However, many people find that engaging in these activities while in meetings or in other settings requiring focused attention is unprofessional and even rude. Recently, more state legislatures and city councils have takenRead… Read more »

1.USA.Gov Hackathon: Data On How We “Share” Gov

Trust is a valuable thing online, and being able to know that the information you’re receiving is reliable and accurate is difficult yet essential — especially so for government websites, where people go for critical information, like health services and public safety. That’s why it was great to see the federal government roll out 1.USA.govRead… Read more »

MA Veteran and Family Portal RFP

The Massachusetts Broadband Institute just released an RFP to develop and implement the Massachusetts Veterans and Family Portal to help untangle information about benefits and services for veterans and their families in MA. The MBI has embarked on this project in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services and the Home Base Program, aRead… Read more »