Archive for the ‘Public policy’ Category

Improving transportation planning for cyclists through smartphones & GPS

Monday, January 11th, 2010

The San Francisco Transportation Authority (SFTA) has released a mobile application that will improve its ability to understand the traffic patterns of cyclists in the city. Traditionally, the SFTA has used far less accurate and more manual methods of collecting data on bicycle use – e.g., someone standing on a corner counting. By installing an app on your GPS-enabled smartphone and then providing some data on your trips, you can provide rich, accurate, and real-time data to SFTA on how you bike in the city. This is a great step forward in quantifying the growing number of cyclists in the city and making the roads better for them.

The application is currently only available on the iPhone and Android platforms. This has driven some concern for a variety of reasons:

  • It doesn’t provide an accurate view of a very large segment of users. Blackberry has far more current users than the iPhone and the Android platforms combined.

  • It doesn’t provide as representative a picture of users from a variety of income backgrounds. The iPhone is one of the most expensive devices out there ($200 for the newest model). You can get a Blackberry for $50 or often less.

  • It probably undercounts bicycle commuters heading downtown. There are 16 million more enterprise Blackberry users than there are enterprise iPhone users in the US. I believe that addressing the bicycle needs of commuters represents the largest opportunity for taking cars off the road.

  • It isn’t available on CREDO Mobile. Bicyclists such as myself love CREDO Mobile, the greenest mobile phone carrier in America. The iPhone is only available on AT&T, a carrier with a history of contributions to right-wing politicians, including U.S. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) who opposes government spending on bicycle infrastructure. Also, CREDO Mobile is a San Francisco business and woman-owned.

    • If you are interested in having the Cycletracks app support Blackberry, please contact Billy Charlton via email or at (415) 522-4816.

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    Posted in Public policy, Reference, Utilities | No Comments »

    More mobile activism for cyclists

    Friday, December 11th, 2009

    Back in June, I posted on how cyclists can use their cameraphones to clear the bike lanes of cars. I am happy to announce that the City of Belmont has just made parking illegal on Ralston Avenue (thank you!). Hopefully, this means no more cars blocking the bike lane. A victory for cyclists and mobile activism by cameraphone!!!

    Our work is not done, sadly. Cyclists with cameraphones have moved on to yet another very important goal – improving conditions for cyclists on Caltrain.

    Caltrain is the main commuter rail service between San Jose and San Francisco. Caltrain has special bike cars where cyclists can store their bikes. This makes it easier to get to and from the station sans gasoline. As interest in bike/train commuting has grown, however, cyclists have faced challenges in using this service – 1) cyclists still get “bumped” from trains when the bike cars are already full; and 2) cyclists are often forced to sit on the floor, stand, or sit away from their bikes as there is insufficient seating in the bike cars.

    My CREDO Mobile Blackberry Curve is again a great tool for documenting and drawing attention to problems. I can take pictures or videos of bikers forced to sit on the floor. I can then post them to our “Cyclists for a Better Caltrain” group on Facebook and share them with other activists, decision makers, and the press. I can also point out when the conductors have done something fabulous that makes bikers more comfortable and helps the trains run on schedule.

    If you are a cyclist who rides Caltrain, please join our group on Facebook. IF you are looking to join up with other bike activists, make sure to join the incredible San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. Strength in numbers!

    Bikers sitting on the stairs and standing due to a lack of seats

    Bikers sitting on the stairs and standing due to a lack of seats

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    Posted in Accessories, Green, Public policy, Uncategorized, Video, cameraphone | No Comments »

    Would my mobile phone really interfere with an airplane’s systems?

    Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

    More and more these days, I hear grumbling every time I get on an airplane about the requirement that we all turn off our mobile devices — fully — for takeoff and landing. Does this policy, which seems to be shared by every major U.S. airline, have some basis in reason?

    From everything I’ve been able to research…the answer is definitely YES.

    Takeoffs and landings are the most critical time in any airplane’s flight (and unfortunately, when crashes are most likely to occur). Is this really the time to assume that your phone won’t interfere with a crucial sensor or navigation system? If there’s anything tricky about the landing, such as crosswinds, low light, fog or the need for an instrument approach…you probably shouldn’t make the pilots’ job any harder.

    “But my phone emits such a weak signal and I’m in row 40, more than 100 feet away from the cockpit.”

    Sure, just one phone might not be a problem…but if you’re allowed to use your phone, then everyone else will be too. Will 100 phones transmitting at the same time interfere with cockpit systems? Personally, I’d rather not be on the flight where we all find out.

    “But my iPod doesn’t emit any signal at all. Why can’t I listen to music while we take off?”

    Well, if you’re in the aisle seat and I’m in the window seat, I’d prefer that you be able to hear any and all emergency instructions from the flight attendants if we all need to get off this plane in a real big hurry. I hope that’s not too much to ask.

    “The airlines are just doing this to make us use their outrageously expensive in-flight phones.”

    Actually, not so much anymore. When’s the last time you actually saw one of those credit card phones on a plane? They’re generally being phased out, and you were never allowed to use them below 10,000 feet anyway.

    And that’s not to mention that your cell phone just isn’t going to work very well up in the air anyway. Even if you can get a signal, the network will have a really hard time coping with your speed — both in hopping quickly from from tower to tower, as well as the fact that you’re doing 500 mph or so. Mobile phones weren’t designed to handle either condition

    Which brings up another reason you should be sure to keep you phone (or at the very least its radio connections) OFF during flight…which is power management. If you’re up in the air and your phone is trying to find a tower to connect to, it will probably emit at full power (since the towers are several miles below you) and hop from tower to tower along the way — which will drain your battery pretty quickly and leave you with a dead phone on landing.

    Apart from all the technical and safety reasons mentioned above….do you really want someone in the seat next to you yammering away on the phone for most of your flight? I know I wouldn’t (and I usually feel guilty when I make a short call as we pull up to the gate to let my loved ones know I’ve arrived safely.) Maybe that’s why a handful of Congressional representatives have introduced the “Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace (HANG UP) Act” to ban all voice calls while in flight. Most airplane passengers, from the polls cited in that link, seem to agree with them.

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    Posted in Public policy, Travel and Maps | No Comments »

    Why Does Apple Censor Political Content on Its iPhone App Store?

    Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

    freedom-time1

    “Defaming, demeaning, or attacking political figures is not considered appropriate content for the App Store.”

    CREDO Mobile is a big supporter of Net Neutrality and the groups that fight for it. One important aspect of the Net Neutrality fight is the ability for telcos to restrict the content that they make available to their customers. Such restrictions often focus on maintaining the company’s market power (e.g., AT&T vs. Skype and Google Voice).

    With the proliferation of the Blackberry and iPhone app stores, however, handset manufacturers are now in a powerful position to decide what you can see or do on your phone. This opens the door to political censorship. Sadly, Apple has already taken some steps in this direction. In 2008, Apple rejected the Freedom Time app from software developer Juggleware. Freedom Time was a harmless app that displayed a cartoon character of George Bush with arms like a Mickey Mouse watch. The application counted down the days until Inauguration Day.

    Apple rejected Juggleware’s application to sell the Freedom Time app through the iPhone App Store, “Defaming, demeaning, or attacking political figures is not considered appropriate content for the App Store.” Juggleware appealed directly to Steve Jobs who put perceived profits ahead of free speech, “Even though my personal political leanings are democratic, I think this app will be offensive to roughly half our customers. What’s the point?”

    The point, Steve, is that you and Apple should not be evaluating what political speech is appropriate. If you need to evaluate this decision from a pure business standpoint, how about listening to the majority of your customers who support net neutrality and would prefer to make their own decisions on what content they should be able to access?

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    Posted in Public policy | 1 Comment »

    Driven to Distraction: Great New York Times Series on the Dangers of Using Your Phone While Driving

    Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
    not good

    not good

    The New York Times has run a great series over the previous few months on the dangers of mobile phone use while behind the wheel. Studies suggest that drivers using phones are four times as likely to cause a crash as other drivers. The likelihood that they will crash is equal to that of a drunk driver with a .08 percent blood alcohol level. Research also shows that hands-free devices may increase risks by suggesting that the behavior is safe. Sadly, mobile phone distractions kill 2,600 people per year in the US and cause 330,000 accidents that result in moderate or severe injury. The series covers a variety of subjects on this topic, including:

    - Think that you are talented enough to text and drive safely? Try this little simulator. I failed miserably.

    - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2003 withholding of research on the dangers of mobile phone use while driving. The official in charge of the agency at the time says that he was urged to withold the research to avoid anagonizing members of the then-Republican Congress who had warned the agency not to lobby states on the matter. The researchers also decided not to send a draft letter, that they were preparing for Secretary Mineta, warning states that recent hands-free laws might not solve the problem.

    - New York cabbies’ refusal to heed a 10-year ban on mobile phone use. The author suggests that in one-third of his recent cab rides the driver was yapping or texting.

    - The State of Utah’s tough new laws on texting while driving. Offenders who kill someone can get up to 15 years in prison. Unlinke many other states, Utah considers texting while driving a “willful act,” just like driving drunk.

    - How public safety advocates are trying to educate teens on the dangers of using phones while driving. They feature this harrowing Welsh PSA.

    - An increase in laptop and phone use while driving among those who work out of their cars. Businesses are struggling with the trade-off between increased productivity and heightened liability risk.

    - Truckers’ refusal to curb texting while driving, despite evidence of a 23x increase in risk of an accident.

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    Posted in Public policy, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »