Transportation

No Fare! Free Transit Feasibility in Vancouver

- Adam Clare 2 Comments

flyign bus
Over at The Tyee they have a five part series on making transit in British Columbia free. So far they have asked if free transit is crazy and looked at a city that provides free transit a bus ride from Vancouver.

The most recent addition to this series looks at the town of Hasslet in Belgium, which has a similar population to Nanimo (on Vancouver Island). The Tyee speculate that free transit is not yet feasible in BC, but given the right factors there’s no reason Nanimo can’t be like Hasslet.

“To be successful, I think that the public transport system must not be crowded at the start. Our project was originally organized to attract more passengers and to have less cars in the city centre. The buses also need separate lanes, because travelling by bus has to be faster than by car, so the infrastructure of intersections and streets has to be adapted. The buses have to be modern, clean … you need to have more bus stops. And the shelters must be attractive.”

Green Docking at the Seattle Port

- Adam Clare

Seattle’s port is looking to save money and improve its reputation by becoming more environmentally friendly. Part of this plan is to encourage the use of real estate that is not primarily used for transport.

The Port of Seattle’s new goal is to be the cleanest, greenest and most energy-efficient port in the U.S., said its chief executive, Tay Yoshitani, who believes the move will help the port market itself to its customers and keep in good stead with the community.

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

- Adam Clare

No this is not a post about that Daft Punk song, this is about car batteries. Wired is reporting that the next generation of car batteries that are currently in development are going to be better, work harder, allow for faster cars, and hold a stronger cars. Essentially car battery technology is improving thus opening up more possibilities for electric cars.

Firefly has replaced the lead plates found inside conventional batteries with a lead-impregnated foam made from carbon graphite –- one of the few materials that can withstand the highly corrosive sulfuric acid inside batteries. The foam increases the surface area of lead inside the battery, delivering more power and slashing the recharge time, says Firefly CEO Ed Williams.

Equally important, Firefly’s approach eliminates the crystals that can build up inside lead-acid batteries. Over time, those crystals reduce the amount of electricity a battery can hold, one of the major reasons electric and hybrid automakers have favored lithium-ion or nickel batteries, even though lead acid is less expensive.

USA Senate Passes Energy Bill

- Adam Clare

The United States has decided to clean their air and save money by requiring vehicles to improve their mileage. This is very significant because their hasn’t been a legislated mileage increase in 20 years. This is definitely good news for Americans, and Canadians because it means that our air will be cleaner too (Canada generally follows American mileage legislation).

In an eleventh-hour compromise fashioned after two days of closed-door meetings, an agreement was reached to increase average fuel economy by 40 percent to 35 miles per gallon for cars, SUVs and pickup trucks by 2020.

But the fuel economy issue threatened to topple the legislation up to the last minute. Majority Leader Harry Reid held off the vote until late into the evening so several senators could be called back to Capitol Hill to provide the 60-vote margin needed to overcome a threatened filibuster from pro-auto industry senators.

FAA Plans to Green Planes

- Adam Clare

Air travel is fast! It can get you around the world very quickly and it also destroys our atmosphere quickly too – and this is why the FAA wants to make planes more efficient. The FAA appears to be taking a well-rounded approach. Airports can be designed to handle planes more efficiently, like towing planes places opposed to having the plane burn fuel to taxi. There are advancements that can be made in air traffic control as well. What I find most interesting is that the FAA is looking to test fuels that are nicer to the air

The FAA Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative, CAAFI , has two studies under way to develop a national roadmap on the viability of alternative fuels for aviation. The first study looks at feasibility, costs, barriers and technical issues. It’s going to answer the key questions that you need to get out of the way before taking big steps. The second study will take a look at the environmental benefits.

The recent announcement from the FAA comes one week after The Economist wrote on how planes can, should, and are becoming more efficient.

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