Technology Briefs — March 27 - April 2
This briefing can be e-mailed to you every week.
Just click here to sign up.
• PeopleNet Signed Record Number of Fleets in ’06
• WebTech Unveils Tracking System
• Colorado Sets New Biofuels Research
• Mass. Fast Lane Discounts May be Permanent
PeopleNet Signed Record Number of Fleets in ’06
Mobile communications PeopleNet said late last month that it signed 197 new fleet customers during 2006, a company record.
Revenue rose by more than 30% last year, maintaining the company’s position as the fastest growing provider of onboard communications and fleet management solutions in North America, according to Ron Konezny, PeopleNet’s chief operating officer.
The company also said that refrigerated carrier Greatwide Dedicated Transport chose PeopleNet for its specialized fleet operations. Greatwide operates more than 5,500 trucks and tractors, 4,800 trailers and 90 facilities in 48 states. Transport Topics
WebTech Unveils Tracking System
Technology firm WebTech has developed a tracking system for tractors and multiple trailers that uses the power line connection between the units.
WebTech said the feature will allow fleet managers to determine more easily when a trailer is connected or disconnected from a specific truck.
The system can track the location of units and then transmit the information over the Internet using WebTech’s tracking system, known as Quadrant. Transport Topics
Colorado Sets New Biofuels Research
Colorado’s biofuels research coalition has announced its first major project, a public-private partnership that will work to create new transportation fuels and other products from crops, the Associated Press reported.
Gov. Bill Ritter (D) said the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels, known as C2B2, will create a partnership between businesses and the newly formed Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory, AP reported.
The collaboratory is a partnership with the federal National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Colorado School of Mines, the University of Colorado at Boulder and Colorado State University.
Companies will pay membership fees that will finance shared research, and the sponsors will share in the profits of the patents generated to bring them to market, while sponsors also can sign individual agreements to fund proprietary research, AP said. Transport Topics
Mass. Fast Lane Discounts May be Permanent
Massachusetts Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen has come out in support of making the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority’s Fast Lane discounts permanent if funding for the program can be secured, the Associated Press reported.
The discount, which without action would have ended Sunday, provides commuters who use electronic transponder discounts at the Allston-Brighton plaza and the Sumner and Ted Williams tunnels, AP said.
The program, which costs about $12 million a year, has been paid for largely through the $75 million sale of turnpike land, but officials have not come up with a permanent funding source, AP reported.
Cohen said he plans to ask the turnpike board to extend the discounts through June and seek cost savings and legislative help to pay for the program permanently.
Gov. Deval Patrick (D), while rejecting a proposal to eliminate turnpike tolls west of Route 128, also has said he would support making the discount permanent, AP reported. Transport Topics
