High gas prices in the last half of 2007 brought about a slight reduction in traffic congestion nationally, thus slowing a trend of more than two decades, according to a national congestion report released July 8.

However, experts expect that when the economy rebounds, traffic problems will do the same.

The Texas Transportation Institute, an agency of the Texas A&M University system, released its bi-annual report on congestion on July 8.

According to the “2009 Urban Mobility Report,” the 2007 data show that congestion is down slightly from 2006 numbers for most metropolitan regions nationally, but the long-term pattern still indicates congestion has grown during the past 25 years.  

To see how the Minneapolis-St. Paul area fared compared to the rest of the nation, go to http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/.

Minnesota’s disabled veterans are now able to use public transportation throughout Minnesota at no charge. The transit benefit, signed into law this past legislative session, went into effect July 1.

Disabled veterans need to show an identification card to bus operators of any fixed-route service in the state, including Metro Transit and suburban transit providers in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, as well as regular-route services in Duluth, St. Cloud, Rochester, Moorhead, East Grand Forks and Mankato.

Mn/DOT oversees and funds transit service outside of the Twin Cities metro area.

“The transit providers in Greater Minnesota are an important part of our multi-modal transportation system,” said Commissioner Tom Sorel. “I appreciate that the fixed-route transit providers are acknowledging the contributions of our disabled veterans by offering them free service.”

In the Twin Cities area, this benefit is also available on the Hiawatha light-rail line and on the Northstar commuter rail line, which will begin operations late this year between Big Lake and downtown Minneapolis.

There are approximately 50,000 disabled veterans in Minnesota. The free ride benefit also extends to a personal care attendant who may be assisting a disabled veteran as they travel.

To qualify for the free rides, disabled veterans must show a veterans identification card issued by a VA Medical Center with the words “Service Connected” or the initials “SC” below the photo. The cards are available at the VA medical centers in Minneapolis and St. Cloud. Call 612-467-1991 or visit va.gov/healtheligibility/application/IDCard.asp for more information.

With a week to go before all GroupWise e-mail accounts need to be below 500 MB in size, most Mn/DOT employees have met the challenge, according to Kim Roberson, project manager, Information and Technology Services.

As of July 8, however, there were still a couple of hundred accounts that exceed the limit. On July 15, these accounts will no longer be able to send e-mail but will continue to receive e-mail. In order to send e-mail again, employees will need to delete e-mails older than two weeks from the account in order to reduce the size to below 500 MB.

Keeping e-mail accounts below the cap will require ongoing vigilance from employees, who will receive a warning message whenever their e-mail account is greater than 80 percent full (i.e., 400 MB).

The reduction of e-mail account size is needed to prepare employees for the switch from GroupWise to Microsoft Outlook/Exchange this fall. The change is part of the governor’s Drive to Excellence initiative that is unifying the e-mail systems of all state agencies into a single system. As a result, agencies will have a limited amount of e-mail storage space to improve management and reduce costs.

Visit http://ihub/email for more information. For additional assistance, contact Desktop Support Services at dssco.request@dot.state.mn.us, or your local information technology representative.

By Kay Korsgaard

Whether you’re trying to find a new home for Aunt Rose’s punch bowl, looking for a used playpen or a renter for your spare bedroom, the Employee Bulletin Board can help.

The tool works like a mini-craigslist—connecting employees with each other to buy, sell or exchange goods and services.

Employees can post items to the bulletin board by going to http://ihub/bulletin_board/.  

To view posted items, use GroupWise to proxy into “EmployeeBulletinBoard.” For directions on how to view bulletin board items go to http://ihub/bulletin_board/how.html.

Most items or services are acceptable for posting on the bulletin board, but employees should review Mn/DOT’s Appropriate Use of Electronic Communication and Technology policy before posting to the site.

Employees should not use the service to advertise a personal business. For example, selling that bottle of pricey perfume that you’ve never used is acceptable, but advertising your perfume distribution business is not.