[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z3mqi9kcZE[/youtube]
Researchers at the Utah State University have tested an electric bus that charges wirelessly through induction and will revolutionize the transit industry. The technology was designed by Utah State University’s Wireless Power Transfer Team and the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative’s Advanced Transportation Institute.
Wireless online electric bus
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has developed an Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV) bus that receives power wirelessly from electrical cables laid underneath the surface of the street using Shaped Magnetic Field in Resonance (SMFIR) technology. Two of the new buses have just hit the streets in the city of Gumi, South Korea. (Video)
Continue reading… “OLEV bus charged wirelessly by the road”
When complete, the multi-modal system that can meet the transportation needs of the vast majority of the local residents.
Where in the U.S. can you find the fastest growing transit system? Salt Lake City, Utah. They are the only city in the U.S. that is building light rail, bus rapid transit, streetcars, and commuter rail all at the same time. (Video)
Continue reading… “Utah has the fastest growing transit system in the U.S.”
Behold the AutoTram.
German researchers are testing a unique form of public transportation that borrows the best from busses, electric cars, trains and trams without contributing emissions. The vehicle, named AutoTram, is fully electric, but instead of running on a single charge, it charges when it stops, gaining enough power in 30 seconds to move another mile.
The project comes from the Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems IVI in Dresden and aims to offer the convenience, routing flexibility and affordability of a bus, minus the noise and exhaust. It also addresses the problem of lengthy battery charging cycles. While most cars are only in use for a few hours per day, public transportation vehicles can be in action around the clock, offering nearly no battery charging opportunities…
Continue reading… “Bus/Tram combo charges battery as it picks up passengers”
AutoTram
As part of its research into the public transport of tomorrow, researchers at Fraunhofer have developed the AutoTram – a vehicle as long as a streetcar and as agile as a bus. Combining the best of both vehicles it has no need for rails or overhead contact lines, instead the “bustrolley” rolls on rubber tires and follows a simple white line on the road surface. It was constructed to serve as a research platform in the institute’s “Fraunhofer System Research on Electric-Powered Mobility” project – a large-scale research cooperative involving 33 Fraunhofer institutes that focuses on developing mobility solutions for the future.
Pregnancy Vs Obesity
The majority of expectant mothers cannot find a seat on buses and trains because their fellow passengers cannot distinguish between a pregnant woman’s bump and the figure of an obese woman, it was claimed.
Continue reading… “Why Pregnant Women Can’t Get a Seat on the Bus”
Rotel Tours
This bus owned by a German tour company features a six-foot-long bed for each of its passengers. The company claims to operate some 3400 “Betten auf Rädern,” or “beds on wheels.” Want to see Africa lying down? (Pics)
Continue reading… “Rotel Tours – A Hotel on Wheels”
In cities across the world, traffic is getting out of control; some people now routinely spend upwards of two hours of every day, just in transit. What’s to be done? (Pics)
Continue reading… “Commuter-Friendly Office Of The Future Located On A Bus”
Creative and unusual bus stop designs that make the time you spend waiting for the bus a bit more bearable. (Pics)
Continue reading… “15 Unusual and Creative Bus Stop Designs”
Several days ago, we looked at “toilet to tap,” the increasingly useful art of turning sewage into drinking water. Orange County, Calif., which is pioneering the practice, is proud to tell you how thoroughly its filtration purges the sewage: “Thousands of microfilters, hollow fibers covered in holes one-three-hundredth the width of a human hair, strain out suspended solids, bacteria and other materials.” Continue reading… “Free Energy That Stinks”
Those iconic double-decker Routemaster busses are disappearing from London streets, now running on only a few “heritage routes” in the city. Industrial Designer Hugh Frost wants to bring back a similar bus with this radical idea he calls Freight*BUS, streamlining the top-heavy conveyances while vaguely suggesting their original shape.
Continue reading… “London’s Double-Decker Reinvented For The 21st Century”
The Dubai Metro will be a driverless, fully automated metro network under construction in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai. It is aimed to be one of the most advanced urban rail systems in the world and will be the catalyst for tourism, financial and economic growth. (Pics)
Continue reading… “Dubai Metro: The World’s Most Advanced Urban Rail System”
