Maybe I?m a bit slow, or maybe I just haven?t taken MARC in a little while, but I?ve found something that anyone who uses the service (or anyone who?s waiting for someone who uses the service) needs to know about. It?s called the MARCTracker, and it launched the last week of July. This Web page service is operated by the Maryland Transit Administration and is one of the coolest things I?ve seen in a long time. When you open the page (www.marctracker.com/PublicView/location.html) you?ll see a big, bright map of all the MARC lines throughout Maryland and West Virginia. Each train that?s operating is connected to this site via GPS transponders. These trains are represented on the site by a little box with the train?s number on it.
As the train moves along and the site updates, the box moves. If the train is delayed, the color of the box changes from blue to yellow to orange, going red for delays more than 15 minutes. The map, one of the best I?ve ever seen, shows Park and Ride lots, Baltimore Metro and Light Rail lines and all of the connecting points. It updates automatically. That?s a great benefit if you?re wondering when somebody is going to get home.
E-ZPass issues
Sabba writes in about using one E-ZPass transponder in multiple vehicles: “When I first signed up for my E-ZPass (years ago), the application allowed me to put both cars on the list. It still has the two cars there with the one E-ZPass. The rule means that you must register all your cars. In fact, the application specifically says to put in the license numbers of all cars being used for an E-ZPass and that the pass is transferable among two-axle vehicles.”
That would seem fair. Has anyone had any problems with transferring the transponders from car to car? I?ll add this to my list of questions to ask of the folks that oversee E-ZPass in Maryland when I meet with them later this month.
Wilson bridge horrors
Did you hear this one? Down in Washington they?ve got a contest going on to find the person who had the worst commute because of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. For those who don?t get south of Dundalk, this is the bridge along I-95 that connects Maryland and Virginia. It?s a manufactured bottleneck because four lanes of the interstate have to merge to three to get across the span.
A new bridge is almost finished and, as a grand prize in the contest, the person whose commuting horror story is determined to be the best gets to push the button that blows up the old bridge later this month. Talk about sweet revenge. Now let?s talk about that stretch of the JFX.
