In This Issue

	Internet End is Near, Europe Organization claims
	Utah Light Rail to Feature Food on the Go
	Study Fuels Support for Michigan Gas Tax Hike
	County to Start New Road Department
	Penn. Coalition calls for Solution to Failing Transportation System
	Private Groups Push Plans for Denver Rail Lines
	Highway Paint Shortage affects Roads Nationwide

Internet End is Near, Europe Organization claims

In less than two years, the internet as we know it will reach the limit, as the system runs out of 'IP addresses,' the unique codes that allow devices including smart phones and computers to connect to the internet. The last large batches of addresses are estimated to be issued by September 2011, meaning that shortly thereafter, no new addresses will be available. About four billion addresses exist around the Internet Protocol Addressing Scheme version 4 (IPv4), and they are rapidly running out.

"The internet as we know it will no longer be able to grow," Daniel Karrenberg, chief scientist at RIPE NCC, the organization that issues IP addresses in Europe, told CNN. "That doesn't mean it will cease to function, but entry could be limited to new devices."

Experts have already solved the impending internet millennium, by creating a replacement, IPv6, which has trillions more addresses ready to go. Businesses have thus far been reluctant to adapt their technology to the new IPv6, and experts fear there may be a crunch in 18 months. "My impression is that while awareness of the issue is quite high, a lot of businesses are sitting on the fence," said Karrenburg. "Many small businesses are waiting to see what the early adopters do; how they handle things. My suspicion is too many are leaving it too late."

Okay, so this isn’t a transportation related article but I felt it needed to be in the Tom Warne Report this week. If any readers think the internet will stop growing and someone won’t figure out a solution, please email me at twarne@tomwarne.com. This quote will find its way into the collection of dumb things that people have said Joel Barker uses. One of them is by the IBM CEO who said there is a world market for three personal computers. The lesson here: Too many people are constrained by their own lack of vision and don’t see the future and all its possibilities. The recession has been tough but some firms are really doing well. The future has many unknowns but many firms see it as a vast horizon of opportunity while others fear the future and see it as a wasteland filled with problems. Which are you? Which group will survive and which will thrive? I plan to thrive. TW

Utah Light Rail to Feature Food on the Go

SALT LAKE CITY – Light rail riders in Utah will soon be able to purchase food and drinks at TRAX stations. The Utah Transit Authority has kicked off a two-year pilot program with gazebo-shaped concession stands open at the Sandy light-rail TRAX station and the Salt Lake Central intermodal hub. The kiosks will sell convenience-type products such as soft drinks, coffee, bottled water, hot chocolate, sandwiches, cookies, nuts and dried fruit – even lip balm and aspirin, UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter said.

"We initially became interested in introducing new amenities to our stations after they were requested in customer service surveys," Carpenter said. UTA has between 10,000 and 15,000 people using the Sandy TRAX and Salt Lake Central stations every day.

"We conservatively estimate that 2 to 5 percent of those individuals may make a purchase at one of the kiosks each day," Carpenter said. UTA leases the kiosks to the concessions provider for $800 per month. If the pilot program is successful, the concession provider (TRAX Express) will give 10 percent of its profit to the UTA, and more snack kiosks could be added to other transit stations.

Study Fuels Support for Michigan Gas Tax Hike

LANSING – Michigan’s deteriorating transportation system causes costly traffic congestion, and will cost the state 12,000 jobs and $287 per resident in lost time and wasted fuel, according to a new study. That is roughly the same amount drivers would pay if the state doubled its gas tax and vehicle registration fees – a $2.2 billion revenue increase that would finance massive improvements to the highway system, concludes the report by Anderson Economic Group of Lansing. The Michigan Chamber of Commerce requested the study, which shows the economic impact of bad and good roads.

Chamber president Rich Studley said a revenue boost for state roads is long past due. The Anderson study found that doubling the Michigan Transportation Fund, from $2.2 billion to $4.4 billion in 2011, would create about 15,000 new jobs. “Greater investment in infrastructure is part of reform,” Studley said, adding that lawmakers' fear of raising the gas tax will only cause road problems to grow more serious and more expensive to repair. “The cost of doing nothing means we begin to disinvest in our transportation system,” he said. The state gas tax was last raising in 1997. The study also found that in 2006, poor roads resulted in $3,763 in medical costs per crash and $542 million in vehicle repairs.

Remember that Michigan is a state that has let some of its roads return to gravel due to funding constraints. TW

County to Start New Road Department

SPRINGFIELD, Ga. – A Georgia county will open its own roads department after commissioners voted 5-1 Tuesday to end its contract with the company responsible for road maintenance for the past nine years. Effingham County Finance Director Joanna Wright said initial discussions with provider OMI about costs showed the county could save about $481,000 annually.

Wright said the county already owns the heavy equipment need for the work, and that bringing the work in-house provides additional benefits beyond financial savings. “It’s also the level of service difference,” Wright said. “We can use inmate labor. OMI could not, and we feel we can do more.”

The county plans to hire a civil engineer for the department, Wright noted. The county has frequently paid an outside engineer for services, which fees the county can now save.

In an industry where the trend was to go the other way, we thought this move in Effingham County would be of interest. It will be something to watch. TW

Penn. Coalition calls for Solution to Failing Transportation System

A Pennsylvania coalition is pledging its commitment to finding a comprehensive solution to the state’s transportation funding crisis and urged lawmakers to call a special session to address the issue. The Keystone Transportation Funding Coalition represents more than two dozen interests including unionized labor, health care, business, agriculture and urban restoration.

“We agree that this is a much greater problem than the $472 million lost from the federal rejection of the I-80 tolling plan,” said George Wolff, who established the coalition. He added that the problem extends to what the Transportation Advisory Committee identified recently as a $3.5 billion annual gap in transportation funding.

“The business in Pennsylvania revolves around our transportation network,” said Wolff. “What we pay at the state level helps fund local road and bridge improvements as well as state and interstate highway maintenance and construction, tens of thousands of bridges, public transit and our local airports as well.”

Gov. Ed Rendell called a special legislative session to address the state’s transportation funding issue, which may continue through Nov. 30, when the regular legislative session concludes.

Private Groups Push Plans for Denver Rail Lines

Two private business ventures are competing for a contract to build, operate and maintain light rail lines to Denver International Airport and the west suburbs. Both groups have agreed to provide $900 million up-front to finance construction of the estimated $2.3 billion public/private project with the Regional Transportation District.

The financing will protect the RTD’s interests and save the agency money early in the project, according to RTD’s chief on the project, Brian Middleton. “That is money at risk; if they don’t perform, they can lose parts of that,” he said. “If they have a bad month, they can lose 25 percent of (RTD) payments for that month. It provides a powerful incentive.”

The two groups – Denver Transit Partners and Mountain-Air Transit Partners – submitted their bids Friday, which the RTD board is expected to choose between at its June 15 meeting after consulting with financial advisors J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs. Both plans call for preliminary work on the project to begin as early as August, with trains in service by 2016.

Highway Paint Shortage affects Roads Nationwide

Road stripes could be fading in the summer heat as nationwide highway paint shortage delays restriping projects across the nation. The Texas Department of Transportation has suspended redrawing stripes on existing roads as a result of a shortage of Methyl Methacrylate, an ingredient that makes striping paint tough and reflective. The shortage comes from a fire a couple months ago at a Dow Construction Chemical Plant, and is expected to be resolved later this year.

Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Chris Lippincott said the agency usually has enough paint on hand to redraw 171 million feet of the 4-inch-wide stripes on state roadways. While new road construction is still going to continue, restriping projects could be postponed.