Transportation : Innovation + Job News

The campaign to end texting while driving is heating up, especially with the recent announcement by AT&T that it was joining up with the Department of Transportation and the FCC to establish a national movement to halt the practice.
 
Although individuals can "take the pledge" to stop texting and driving, they can also thwart temptation with DriveScribe, a mobile application that acts as a real-time driving monitor and "coach" that gives tips on better driving. Parents can also use the app to get alerts whenever a teen texts while on the road.
 
Created by Minneapolis-based tech firm Drive Power, the app launched in August and is seeing a great deal of momentum already, including a pilot project in Saudi Arabia and a partnership with GMAC insurance.
 
CEO Will England notes that the quick adoption rate is being fueled by a free version of the app, as well as an expanded incentives program and an aggressive awareness campaign. He says, "We're continuing to gain traction in the individual-user market, even hearing from parents that many are requiring their teens to use DriveScribe when they drive."
 
Another growth driver: corporate partnerships, like the ones with GMAC and the Saudis. The project in Saudi Arabia involved having employees of Saudi Aramco, one of the largest oil companies in the world, use DriveScribe. With a large fleet of vehicles, the company believes that DriveScribe can reduce liabilities and minimize accidents.
 
"We're actively working with corporate partners to promote safe driving among large groups of drivers," England says. With such high-profile projects leading the app's kickoff, look for DriveScribe to come to a vehicle near you in the not-too-distant future.
 
Source: Will England, CEO
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

As a registered dietician, Tamara Brown is used to counseling people about healthy food choices. Now, she can just take their order instead.
 
Brown had been leading classes and cooking on her own, but a few months ago she decided to take a leap of professional faith and go from advisor to purveyor. Her new venture, Sassy Spoon, will be rolling out at the beginning of May.
 
The food truck, with its distinctive logo and bright pink hue, stands out visually but also provides a unique culinary experience: gluten-free, high quality, low-glycemic food on the go.
 
"I felt like it would be such a fun idea to pair my nutrition background with a food truck," she says. "I've always wanted to have my own business, but never had an idea that really felt like a fit until now."
 
Brown will be basing her dishes around foods used to regulate insulin, which can help balance moods and energy levels. She's focusing on vegetable-oriented carbohydrates, to prevent the type of energy crashes that come from eating refined carbs.
 
Most of all, she aims to make the choices delicious. Her menu picks include braised beef, sweet potato hash, ginger-garlic coleslaw, and wild rice salad with black beans. Who says eating healthy has to taste boring?
 
She sees the venture as exhilarating, but also terrifying. "This is the scariest thing I've ever done," she says. "It's been a huge personal challenge, but I've always been drawn to women who have their own businesses, who put themselves out there. I respect them so much, and now I have the chance to be one of those women."
 
Source: Tamara Brown, Sassy Spoon
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Finding a savvy mechanic can be a challenge, especially if you want to compare multiple quotes. But if RoadTab finds its footing, that search might take only a few clicks instead of a dozen phone calls.
 
Started in January by entrepreneur Jacob Phillips, RoadTab stems from Phillips' experience as an owner of a small car dealership. He constantly had to call auto repair shops, and felt that there had to be a better way. So he partnered with Twin Cities web and mobile development firm Tiny Mission and developed a free system that brings together mechanics and consumers.
 
Users can anonymously input their vehicle's make, model, year, and repair issue. By also inputting zip code, they can search for a shop within a certain radius. Mechanics get a notification of the job and respond with a parts and labor estimate.
 
Mechanics can choose between two membership levels: a free level that lets them get three repair queries per month, or $199 per year for receiving unlimited queries.
 
One strength of the service is that consumers can send in queries for a specific job--such as windshield repair--and get only auto glass repair shops in response.
 
The next phase, due within a few months, is the inclusion of reviews from people who have used the system to find shops. Phillips notes that the app is also expanding to Milwaukee this month.
 
"We'll be moving throughout the Midwest, and eventually we'd love to have this be national," he says. "People are really responding well to the service, because we've simplified it as much as possible. You can send out a query about brake pads, for example, and get quotes from two dozen mechanics about what it would cost to replace them."
 
The company's name is based on the cost of upkeep, or “tab," that a car owner builds up over time, Phillips says. With this new app, that tab may be more reasonable in the future, he believes.
 
Source: Jacob Phillips, RoadTab
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

The Twin Cities has been lauded many times for its bike-friendly routes and strategies, but what happens if you have a flat at 10pm?
 
Until now, repair service has been limited to bike shop hours, but local startup Bike Fixtation aims to change that. Started by entrepreneurs Chad DeBaker and Alex Anderson, the firm creates kiosks that pair a large vending machine with a standalone bike repair rack.
 
The idea was sparked during DeBaker's bachelor party, when he and a group of friends were bar-hopping by bike. One of them got a flat tire, and no one had a spare tube.
 
"We thought it was crazy that we live in one of the biggest biking places in the country and we couldn't get a tube after 8pm," he says.
 
Bicyclists can buy products such as tubes, patch kits, tools, and even sunscreen and energy bars, whenever they like. The repair rack features a collection of tools, attached by theft-proof cords, and an electric tire pump.
 
The first kiosk was installed inside the Uptown Transit Station, just above the Midtown Greenway. A second location is planned for Lake Street and Hiawatha, in the light rail station there.
 
Bike Fixtation has been building up its capital by selling equipment--like the bike repair station--worldwide, so other cities can duplicate the effort. In addition to more locations, the company is also working to bring out more products, like public bicycle pumps.
 
"In general, everyone has been very supportive of the project," says DeBaker. "Cyclists are getting a lot of use out of it, and that's great to see."
 
Source: Chad DeBaker, Bike Fixtation
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Helping teenagers and other drivers to put down mobile devices and concentrate on the road seems like a monumental task. But DrivePower is willing to give it a shot.
 
The company's showcase mobile application, DriveScribe, is geared toward using technology in a way that's appropriate, not distracting. The app functions as a real-time driving monitor and "coach" that gives tips on better driving. If a user tries to sneak some text messaging into drive time, the application immediately alerts parents or other administrators.
 
Sorry, kids. But it's not all-stick-and-no-carrot: the app also posts scores based on driving safely, and users can "play" against each other or earn rewards. The technology's market reach is enormous, believes founder and CEO Will England.
 
"We want to be thought of by every parent and every teen when they get in a vehicle," he says. "Our product could become an essential tool when transitioning from a learner's permit, for example."
 
He anticipates partnerships with insurance companies, which could offer lower rates based on safe driving scores. The app will be released to the general public in April, after an intensive research and development phase, including a number of tests with the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
 
Although the company is anticipating success with DriveScribe, England notes that they're increasing their reach beyond teen driving, and even beyond driving in general. "As a company, we really want to leverage emerging technology to help people make better decisions," he says. "Right now, that's concentrated on driving, but going forward, we'll broaden our scope."
 
Source: Will England, DrivePower
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

The Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority (RCRRA) wants to know what kinds of businesses should fill the Union Depot building in Lowertown St. Paul. Once restored, the historic building will be the eastern terminus of the future Central Corridor Light Rail line.

A short, anonymous survey is available online until June 26.

The information will be used for planning purposes, "to understand what kinds of businesses have an interest in opening a shop or selling their goods in Union Depot, and how Union Depot can become a vibrant part of the fabric of Downtown Saint Paul, in addition to serving as the premier multimodal transit hub of the region," says Daniel Fuchs, senior analyst for HR&A Advisors, which is assisting with the survey effort "to explore the best means for developing a vibrant mix of mutually-supportive local businesses and entrepreneurs in the building," according to a Ramsey County Regional Rail News statement.

The purpose of the survey and HR&A work is "to maximize the economic development and job-generation value of The Union Depot project," including to:

� help inform a vision for what kind of marketplace The Union Depot should become, and over what period of time;
� demonstrate your interest in seeing The Union Depot succeed as an economic development driver and jobs-generator for the city and region;
� help identify what kinds of tenant spaces might be made available in the building, along with corresponding infrastructure needs; and
� put businesses on a list to attend an open house for potential tenants of the building.

A six-page pamphlet gives more information about the $150 million project, which is set to be completed in early 2013 and is expected to draw 1 million transit riders by 2014. The pamphlet includes a floor plan showing the 56,000 square feet of tenant space and 38,000 square feet of "civic halls" for retail kiosks.

The pamphlet also offers a market overview for Lowertown and Downtown St. Paul.

Sources: Daniel Fuchs, HR&A Advisors; Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority
Writer: Jeremy Stratton