Google just announced an update to its Flight Search feature that makes it easier for tablet users to search for and book travel from the couch. According to a recent study, 47 percent of all U.S. tablet owners who search for travel on their tablets also end up making purchases on the device. Starting today, travelers who use their iPads or Nexus 7s to use Flight Search will get to see this new… → Read More
GroundLink — a New York City transportation technology and travel services business — released a new mobile app this week. The second iPhone app from the company, GroundLink allows users to book a hybrid, electric or otherwise clean-vehicle car, shuttle or limo to get around cities around the world.
Users can also opt to book a ride by lowest price, highest service rating or soonest and… → Read More
Wait a minute, Nasa, developing something great? Did we wake up in the 1960s, back when Nasa actually had a budget to, you know, do things? Either way, this is great news. So, Nasa plans to develop a new type of hypersonic jet that would reduce the flight time from New York to Sydney, which currently takes 21 hours, to two-and-a-half hours. Two-and-a-half! You can’t even drive from New York to… → Read More
The Obama administration promised $8 billion in funding for cities and states to build high-speed, intercity rail projects back in January.
This week, the Department of Transporation issued its specifications for the manufacture of new fast trains, namely double-decker coach, dining, baggage, and business class passenger rail cars that can travel between 79 MPH and up to 220 MPH.
Bi-level rail… → Read More
We learned yesterday of a new Chinese Future-Train that can travel at speeds of up 620 mph. It’s quite impressive, yes. Now we learn of the 3D Express Coach, a honest-to-goodness bus that has a hollowed out bottom that allows “regular” traffic to pass underneath. All the cool stuff’s in China these days. → Read More
I’ve been quite fascinated by electric car firm Better Place since I read up on how the company was founded by former SAP executive Shai Agassi in the excellent book ‘Start-up Nation’, which tells of Israel’s historical entrepreneurial DNA and tech success stories.
Basically, Better Place aims to reduce global dependency on petroleum through the creation of a market-based transportation… → Read More
Instead of relying on superhuman strength via a panic-induced rush of adrenaline to be able to lift your car off the ground, why not just buy a car that only weighs 300 pounds to begin with? The “Spira4u” is such a car, made mostly (90%) of six-inch foam and with a top speed of 70 miles per hour. Oh, and it gets 100 miles to the gallon. → Read More
The Hornblower Hybrid, as it is called, is a one-off ferry made to service the Alcatraz route. Normally when companies want to “go green,” they stick a solar panel on top, add a recycle bin and they’re done. It looks like these guys have gone the whole hog, however, an d have not only retrofitted the engines but redone the interior and replaced, they say, 90% of the thing. → Read More
WHO LIKES BICYCLES?! (Whoops, sorry, caps lock.) This little design-thing caught my eye, and I figured I’d share it with y’all, because, let’s face it, it’s Friday and most of you, myself included, would rather be constructing an army of snowmen or tap dancing on a Brazilian beach than [whatever it is you're currently doing]. → Read More
Strapped for cash, the New York City Transit Authority will experiment with new digital ads on the sides of city buses. That’s borderline who cares material, but get this: the ads will change based on the bus’ location, which is tracked by GPS. Expect things like military recruitment ads on Queens busses and cars on that one bus that goes up and down Water Street. I have no… → Read More
Gas, schmas. Here’s the Toyota iQ, an actual, real car that’s available for pre-order in Europe now and will hit the roads there in January. It’s small, yes, but it can hold four people – Toyota recommends three adults and one child – and best of all, it gets a pretty amazing 55+ miles per gallon. → Read More
Reuters is reporting that text messaging may have had something to do with a recent train crash in California that killed 25 and injured 135. Cell phone records show that the train’s conductor received a text message at 4:21:03 PM, followed by the crash at 4:22:23 PM. The idea is that he got the text message, looked down to read it, and missed the trackside signal. The commuter train then… → Read More
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1735797252 There’s a reason the “wearable vehicle” concept has only taken off in games and insane stunts. It’s probably that part where there’s heavy machinery attached to your body and if you take a turn wrong, it’ll tear your limbs off. Let’s hear what the creator has to say about the death machine pictured… → Read More
Nice work, San Francisco. Nice work. This fall, San Francisco will be testing a system of 4-inch by 4-inch mesh-networked bumps glued to 25% of the city’s parking spaces. The bumps will be linked to various wireless networks, which will relay parking information to a smartphone-friendly website and nearby street signs. So instead of driving around the block 15 times, you’ll be able to see… → Read More
Zipcar is running a promotion (unfortunately, they’re no longer accepting applications) called the Low-Car Diet that basically entails giving up your car for a month. In return, participants get free public transportation passes, a free Zipcar membership and driving credit, and other various perks. If you live in a populated area and you don’t own a car, I’d recommend the service. You… → Read More
Anybody feeling pinched by high gas prices? You should. Expensive gas not only hits us squarely in the pocketbook when we fill our gas tanks, but it makes everything else more expensive as well; air travel, shipping packages, groceries, you name it. Aside from being expensive, gasoline is hard on the environment too. Here are a few viable alternatives (that are available now) if you decide that… → Read More
This all looks very nice on paper and I’d be one of the first wide-eyed optimists to use one of these things but I just can’t help but think that we’re probably not going to see these on the road in the next three to four years (as MIT hopes). The full-size version of this “City Car” being developed by the brave men and women at the Massachusetts Institute of… → Read More
I think it’s safe to say that everyone knows what each and every one of the included photos is and which episode it was from, so I don’t need to bore you with details. I was hoping they’d have an Imperial speeder bike since those were my favorites as a kid, but they didn’t. I almost cried about it. → Read More
If you haven’t heard of Aptera yet, you’ll probably be hearing a whole lot about the company in the coming months. It’s got two models of automobiles coming out next year. One is just about ready — named the Aptera Typ-1 e — which is all-electric and gets 120 miles per charge. The Typ-1 h is a gasoline/electric hybrid that’ll be available in 2009 and is… → Read More
Thank you, New Jersey Transit. The organization will start a campaign later this month telling riders to shut up and respect their fellow passengers, castigating them for talking LOUDLY on their cellphone and listening to music LOUDLY on their iPods (and for spreading their bags and whatnot over multiple seats). I don’t know how many of you take public transportation, but after a long day of… → Read More
Now that you’re well into your 30s and feeling like an old fart, it’s time to reinvigorate yourself with something new. If you enjoyed rollerblading, cycling, or straight up tom foolery as a teenager, I’m sure you’ll enjoy Trikke. It’s a device with three wheels that works by leaning side-to-side and driving in an “S-style” motion. Like rollerblading on a… → Read More
Perhaps you live in a city with some abandoned trolley tracks near you. Or perhaps, you live in a suburban home near abandoned rail-road tracks. Either way, these concept ideas for personal rail transportation are genius. Imagine being able to take a ride down a set of tracks all by yourself. Some of the concepts are motorized, but others (such as the unique surfboard model) rely on old-fashioned… → Read More
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San Francisco, CA
