ITS America Chief Joins Traffic.com; Will Coordinate National Market Deployment and Manage Telematics Business
18 December 2000
ITS America Chief Joins Traffic.com; Will Coordinate National Market Deployment and Manage Telematics Business
WAYNE, Pa.--Dec. 18, 2000--Traffic.com, the world's leading provider of digital traffic and logistics information, announced today the appointment of John J. Collins, a 25-year veteran of the transportation industry, as its Vice President of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and Telematics.Mr. Collins, who most recently was President and CEO of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, will be responsible for coordinating national deployment of Traffic.com's unique TrafficPulse(SM) digital sensor network. He will focus on working in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration and state departments of transportation to coordinate the build-out of the traffic information-gathering network. Another primary role will be to manage the company's burgeoning telematics line of business, working with automakers and other manufacturers to provide digital traffic content to in-vehicle electronic devices that will become standard within a few years.
According to Richard P. Ramirez, Traffic.com's President and CEO: "We are exceptionally fortunate to have John join our senior management team. His high-level experience with ITS America, transportation programs, mass transit and environmental protection makes him the ideal individual to spearhead both our Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) deployment and our newest line of business - telematics - where we project exponential growth over the next few years."
"I am excited to be joining the Traffic.com team," said Collins. "Traffic.com is uniquely positioned with its technology, talented people, and financial resources to become the leader in providing information to people on the move to save them time and money and improve safety."
At ITS America, Mr. Collins was responsible for every aspect of the 900-member, non-profit organization. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., it fosters public/private partnerships to increase the safety and efficiency of surface transportation through the application of advanced technologies. ITS America resulted from a mandate by the U.S. Congress in 1991 to coordinate the development and deployment of intelligent transportation systems throughout the United States.
Mr. Collins' prior experience includes roles as Principal of Transportation Law and Strategy, a firm that provided representation on Federal transportation legislation and regulations; Senior Vice President for Governmental Affairs and General Counsel for the American Trucking Associations, Inc., a $50 million Washington-based trade association; Assistant General Counsel of Legislation for the U.S. Department of Transportation; Acting Chief Counsel for the Urban Mass Transit Administration (now Federal Transit Administration); and Regional Program Advisor for the Environmental Protection Agency.
He is a graduate of Temple University School of Law and holds a B.S.E. (Mechanical) from Princeton University.
About Traffic.com:
Traffic.com is revolutionizing traffic and logistics information services with the development of advanced information systems and its exclusive TrafficPulse(SM) digital sensor network. Traffic.com employs proprietary digital technology that enables users to access information about actual speeds, travel times, traffic density, events and incidents. Its TrafficPulse(SM) network, built in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation, is deployed along key roadways in major markets and delivers data wirelessly to its National Transportation Intelligence Center(SM). The resulting traffic information is distributed via the Web and on radio broadcast reports, to be augmented shortly by TV broadcasts and wireless access. Ultimately, data will be delivered to vehicles via digitally based on-board telematics devices.