2009MPH
TheTechnological&EnvironmentalNewAge
oftheTransportationIndustry
M
att Santiago is hunched over a console,
one that appears futuristic and looking
as if it would fit perfectly on board the
bridge of the Starship Enterprise.
Colored lights and other blinking giz-
mos reflect off the deep concentration in Matt’s
dark eyes, as far away voices that are miles away
modulate from a nearby speaker.
In front of Santiago are three impressively large
monitors; two 30-inch screens and one twenty-
incher. Grids, charts and digital maps flash, as do
tracking blips and color-coded dashes.Meanwhile,
black and white photographic images show high-
way landscapes,while cars trailing along flicker in
repeating fashion.
It’s like a war room,or more pointedly,an air traffic
controller’s station within some major metropoli-
tan hub.
Yet this command center is no international air-
port’s nerve center,rather,it is the main dispatcher’s
unit at Celebrity Limousine,a Philadelphia-area liv-
ery service that has been operating successfully
since 1991.
As passengers recline comfortably within plush
town cars, resplendent limousines and other luxu-
ry vehicles, each traveling easily toward a pre-
determined location, customers inside these vehi-
cles have no idea that most every aspect of the trip
is being monitored,scrutinized and plotted labori-
ously and in real-time by Mr.Santiago.
byKenAlan
Vehicles are tracked to within the exact mile mark-
er. On board cameras record accelerations and
lengths of stoppage.The road ahead is being con-
tinuously, visually scanned. Flight data is
accessed...
Uh-oh,your flight is delayed.
This is the New Age of the Transportation Industry,
which,when it comes to the créme de la créme of
companies like Celebrity, rely heavily on multi-
faceted methods of communications, satellite
76 November a79 December 2009
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92