Public Transport

Honda develops new personal mobility device – the U3-X experimental vehicle

By Mike Hanlon

04:22 October 3, 2009 PDT

A self-balancing unicycle experimental vehicle from Honda to be shown at the Tokyo Motor Show next month might just be history in the making. Weighing less than 10kg, the 24 by 12 by 6-inch U3-X experimental vehicle runs for an hour, is small enough to be carried onto an airplane as hand luggage, has a wheel which spins in two planes and is set to challenge, perhaps even change, society’s concept of personal mobility. Read More

Contortionist: cleverly designed full-size folding bike

By Jeff Salton

22:20 August 10, 2009 PDT

Folding bikes make a lot of sense for the urban commuter, and at Gizmag we've been busy keeping up with a steady flow of impressive designs that look to marry the convenience of a small folded footprint with the usability of a full-size bike. Some of our favorites include the Switch Commuter Bike, Airnimal, Mercedes-Benz folding bike, IF MODE and Onyerbike, and we can add the Contortionist prototype from 24-year-old UK inventor Dominic Hargreaves to this list of ‘shrinking’ bikes. Read More

Smart concept for public transport solar ‘bike’ - but can the public be trusted?

By Michael Mulcahy

23:05 July 28, 2009 PDT

Young German industrial designer, Tobias Bexten, has come up with a nifty little idea for city transport. The STEM is a compact electric three-wheeler, powered by a lithium-ion battery, that would be available for pick-up and return at a city-wide infrastructure of rental stations. But, if a popular Parisian bike rental scheme is anything to go by, Tobias could expect to see half his bikes stolen, and the rest vandalized, hung from lamp posts and tossed in rivers. Read More

What’s red on the outside and green on the inside? London’s new hybrid buses

By Michael Mulcahy

17:47 July 9, 2009 PDT

There’s no better way to test the realities of hybrid technology than with public transport, where significant reductions in fuel consumption and emissions are not just desirable, but a commercial necessity. London got a little greener this week with the delivery of six new Volvo B5L hybrid double-decker buses to Arriva London. The new buses are powered by Volvo’s parallel hybrid I-SAM technology which, used on bus routes in Gothenburg, Sweden, has delivered fuel savings of 30%. Read More

Mercedes-Benz shows a (very clever) folding bicycle

By Mike Hanlon

04:53 May 31, 2009 PDT

Mercedes-Benz pushbikes are always special but the latest collection, released this week, includes a very clever Foldingbike with two different folded positions. Fully folded, it’s a very small package, while the “shuttle” position allows the bike to be pushed and steered - ideal for easy carriage using public transport. Read More

Volvo hybrid bus takes first passengers

By David Greig

18:41 April 29, 2009 PDT

Volvo’s new hybrid bus is taking on passengers for the first time with field tests now underway in Gothenburg, Sweden. Due for series production next year, the parallel diesel/electric hybrid delivers a 30% improvement in fuel economy and a similar reduction in CO2 emissions. Read More

The next small thing in public transport: Fold-up electric scooters

By David Greig

01:56 March 17, 2009 PDT

With an ever increasing load on the public transport system we need to look for smarter and more environmentally friendly ways of getting from A to B in built up areas. The public bike systems that have been successful in several European cities (Paris, Barcelona, Stockholm and soon London) are one way of achieving this, but the Link scooter system, designed by Anton Grimes of University of New South Wales in Australia, may provide an alternative to bikes that is a little easier for the less energetic. The Link is basically a modular transport solution concept, which allows users to hire an electric lightweight scooter from a hub. When the user has reached their destination, they simply return the scooter to another hub for recharging. Read More

Proterra's hybrid-electric zero-emission bus

By Kyle Sherer

18:48 October 6, 2008 PDT

Proterra is presenting a prototype of its HFC35 composite body, hybrid-electric bus at the American Public Transportation Association expo in San Diego. Scheduled to start service in early 2009 in a nationwide trial, the 37-seat HFC35 contains a fuel cell hybrid-electric powertrain that emits only water, qualifying the bus as a zero-emission vehicle. However, it can also incorporate diesel, gasoline, and compressed natural gas engines. Read More

Volvo to introduce 7700 Hybrid bus in 2009

By Kyle Sherer

22:11 October 2, 2008 PDT

In addition to reducing the discharge of particles and nitrous oxides by 40-50% compared with a diesel-only bus, the Volvo 7700 Hybrid has 30% lower fuel consumption which the company estimates will allow bus operators to recoup the extra cost of the vehicle within seven years. Read More

USB-enabled smart transit card to trial in France

By Noel McKeegan

00:17 September 11, 2008 PDT

Smart cards that combine RFID contactless transaction capability with USB connectivity will be trialed by French public transportation company SNCF according to a report from RFID Journal. As well as working with existing RFID transaction infrastructure, Neowave's Weneo smart cards enable users to purchase tickets from a PC at home using the USB connection... and it's also a handy 4GB portable data storage device. Read More

Montreal's high-tech public bicycle system

By Loz Blain

00:42 June 23, 2008 PDT

June 23, 2008 Public bike systems are an environmentally friendly and practical urban transport solution, and in theory they benefit everyone in town, but sadly, most programs quickly fold when the bikes are routinely stolen or smashed by vandals. Montreal's solar-powered Public Bike System plans to use clever design, RFID and a membership system to see if they can keep a public fleet of bikes on the road. We wish them the very best of luck! Read More

Hypersonic civil aviation: Sydney to Brussels in four hours

By Shaun McKeegan

15:06 August 29, 2007 PDT

August 30, 2007 Imagine long-distance air-travel that could get you to the other side of the globe in less than a quarter of the time it presently takes? Researchers from Reaction Engines, a company created for design and development of advanced space transport and propulsion systems, are investigating the possibility of hypersonic civil transport in a three year study to examine the feasibility of reducing long-distance flights (e.g. from Brussels to Sydney) to less than 4 hours. Read More

Public transport information to your mobile phone in real time

By Loz Blain

May 24, 2007 The mobile phone's abilities remain vastly underused by the average owner; mobile applications have yet to really take root in our lives. But forward thinking companies like Finland's VTT realise the value of having a screen in every pocket that they can communicate with, and are moving to use the ubiquitous cell phone in creatively commercial ways. Their latest project is a real-time public transport information system operating in two of Finland's major cities. Read More