The first phase of the Mineola Rest Area conversion to truck parking began Tuesday. Both rest areas at Mile Marker 168 on Interstate 70 will close to all vehicles for up to three days.

     During this closure, the buildings will be shuttered to prepare for their demolition, signing will be placed along I-70 to inform motorists that the areas are for trucks only, and porta-potties will be installed.  Demolition of the buildings and picnic shelters will occur in late June or early July.  Once the demolition is complete, the porta-potties will be removed and vault toilets installed.

     The final phase of the conversion this fall will be the expansion of the existing parking for additional trucks.  The conversion should be complete by Dec. 1.

     As long as the area is safe and visitors respect construction boundaries, MoDOT will allow truck parking during the conversion process.  Expect occasional overnight closures between now and December.

     Additionally, the Interstate 55 welcome centers near Hayti and Marston are now open. Both sites feature dozens of truck parking spaces, restrooms, picnic areas, playgrounds and benches.  There are even walking trails to give drivers a chance to stretch their legs and explore the area.

     Each site showcases local flavor.  The Marston Welcome Center features both New Madrid Earthquake and Mississippian culture themes.  The Hayti location features a wetlands theme.

Interoperability between E-ZPass and Florida would mean that vehicles with E-ZPass transponder accounts would be able to drive on Florida’s many tollroads and have their regular E-ZPass/I-Pass/iZoom/FAST LANE accounts debited for the tolls. Also Florida motorists with SunPass or the compatible Orlando brand E-PASS could drive throughout E-ZPass territory and have their Florida accounts debited. Tolls in North Carolina would also be part of E-ZPass/SunPass interoperability.
This would bring together two of four large electronic toll blocs in the US accounting for about 70% of the country’s transponder and license plate tolls – the remaining two blocs being Texas and California.

Industry people working interoperability say that after SunPass/E-ZPass the big push will be to bring in Texas and Oklahoma. The 6C alliance of Georgia, Washington state, Utah, and Colorado might come next and California last.

For BESTPASS clients it means  your BESTPASS transponder will finally work on Florida toll roads.

Source: TOLLROADSnews 5-19-11

The ICC will be Maryland’s first all-electronic, variably priced toll facility. The purpose of the ICC is to help deliver dependable travel times with a relatively congestion-free highway. To accomplish this goal, tolls will vary to help manage the amount of traffic, with a higher toll during peak periods and a lower toll during off-peak and overnight hours.

There will not be any toll booths or cash toll collection on the ICC. All tolls will be collected electronically at highway speeds using E-ZPass® technology, as vehicles pass beneath tolling structures.

This is the beginning of the NE Extension starting from a junction with the east-west mainline of the Turnpike and heading north to the Lehigh Valley. It also connects directly with the tax-funded portion of I-476 to the south called Mid County Expressway or Blue Route.

Sr. Customer Support Associate/Major Accounts

BESTPASS is committed to customer service and customer satisfaction.  This position is customer focused requiring individual initiative and a desire to deliver the best service possible.  Excellent organizational skills to create, grow and maintain internal systems and processes and provide level I & II customer support.  In addition to support work, expectations are to take ownership of our largest and most critical accounts to ensure they are receiving the service required.  A successful candidate should be detail oriented, flexible and possess solid verbal, written, web and computer skills.  Experience working with CRM systems along with MS Excel, MS Access is a must.  Minimum 3-5 years experience providing customer support over the phone and internet.  Hands on management or team leading experience a big plus.  College degree preferred. Occasional travel required.

Sales Consultant

An entry to midlevel sales position that will sell a very unique product to a very diverse market.  This position requires a confident, down-to-earth positive attitude that can be projected in-person, via phone, email and/or social media.  Individual must be sales & marketing oriented but well-rounded and willing to perform a myriad of tasks not all sales related.  Candidate will be expected to work our customer help desk 1-2 months prior to beginning any major sales efforts.   Experience and/or desire to take ownership and utilize social media to communicate, sell and deliver our message will be a huge plus.  Flexible with solid phone, verbal and in–person presentation skills along with written and computer talents including PowerPoint are a must.  College degree a plus.  Travel is required.

BESTPASS offers great opportunity for growth, provides an empowering environment along with a very competitive compensation package that rewards success.

Candidates should email their resume and salary requirements to: hr@bestpass.com

Immediate reason for the procurement is Georgia Tollway’s responsibility to have a toll system operating in new HOT lanes on I-85 due to open August 1, 2011. Proposals are due by Jan 6, 2011 and the contract award is planned for Jan 10, 2011. (GSRTA says there could be more than one contract awarded.) The first shipments are required within 30 days, by Feb 5.

This is a request for readers in inventory.

This Georgia DOT project must be capable of reading the new 6C transponders supplied by Federal Signal/Sirit, Neology, TransCore and others.

It is a more modern version of the ISO 18000-6B sticker tag transponders that TransCore developed and has a patent on as eGo, and later eGo Plus. TransCore’s eGo series transponders are the dominant means by which tolls are collected in Texas (brands TxTag, EZ TAG and TollTag), Washington State (Good To Go!) and Florida (SunPass Mini) as well as on the Georgia 400 Toll Road operated by Georgia Tollway (Cruise Card.)

In Georgia, TransCore is contracted to supplying 6C transponders which are being marketed under the brand PEACH PASS, Keep Moving!

Total fatalities fell to 3,380, from 4,245 in 2008, NHTSA said. The total includes truck occupants, occupants of other vehicles and people who were not in vehicles, such as pedestrians.

The figure is the lowest since records began in 1975. Large truck occupants saw the largest decrease in fatalities among all groups tracked by NHTSA, falling 26%.

Fatalities have declined by 2,000 since the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was created in 1999.

They have dropped by 1,855 since 2004, when the current hours-of-service regulations were put into effect by FMCSA.

Both NHTSA and FMCSA are agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The numbers reported Thursday do not take into account total mileage among trucks, a figure DOT has not yet announced for 2009.

Transport Topics

“Retailers have stocked up early on much of their holiday merchandise in order to avoid some of the supply chain disruptions seen earlier in the year,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “Cargo is still coming in, but the key question for sales will be what happens with employment and other factors that affect consumer confidence this fall. Retailers are hoping they’ve hit the right balance of supply and demand.”
There is sufficient evidence to suggest that importers anticipated the peak season and bought early, partly as a result of a fear of lack of capacity and containers but also as a means to avoid the hefty peak season surcharges announced by all the carriers,” Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said. “We remain cautious about growth over the next 12 months. The good news is that the influx of new capacity will continue to put downward pressure on freight rates.”

Source: TheTrucker.com