Transport
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Google Maps can predict how crowded your train or bus will be
Public transit is vital for countless people, but no one wants to be stuck on a subway train or bus that's jam-packed. To help you figure out how busy your ride is going to be, you'll soon see predictions to that end in Google Maps. Google is tapping into data from previous rides to predict how packed a bus, train or subway will be.
Volvo Trucks’ autonomous vehicle is hauling goods in Sweden
Volvo Trucks' autonomous vehicle Vera is ready to hit the road. In collaboration with ferry and logistics company DFDS, Vera will begin transporting goods between a logistics center and a port terminal in Gothenburg, Sweden. The vehicle will haul shipping containers along a predefined route, including a stretch of public roads.
Greyhound joins the modern era with e-tickets on iPhones
Intercity bus service Greyhound might not be the quickest way of getting around, but purchasing tickets is at least a bit faster now thanks to the new (and arguably well overdue) e-ticketing feature on its iOS app. Passengers can buy tickets directly through the app, then simply flash their device at the driver as they board the bus. Every aspect of a trip can be managed through the app, including check-in, updates and live departure times, plus member rewards. And if you're about to get on a long bus journey, chances are your phone's already juiced up, so you needn't worry about misplacing your info -- unlike Android users, who still have to wait for their update.
Google’s Sidewalk Labs made the ultimate public transport guide
Google's parent company, Alphabet, has an offshoot called Sidewalk Labs tasked with improving urban living. The division gave birth to Coord, a spin-off which is launching a smart route planner today for people in New York City and Washington DC. The web app supports multiple modes of transportation -- bus, subway and bike rentals -- and will recommend different combinations based on live, street-level data. It's a unique blend -- other navigation apps don't include dockless bike sharing services such as Spin and Jump. That means you can quickly locate the nearest two-wheeler and judge whether it would be quicker to take the bus or tube.
Chevy is building a hydrogen fuel-cell transport vehicle for the Army
Chevy's venture into working with the Army on alternative-fuel vehicles isn't stopping with the Colorado ZH2. No, the pair are pushing forward with the Silent Utility Rover Universal Superstructure (SURUS) that takes the ZH2's hydrogen fuel cell power plant and mates it with what Defense One describes as a "flatbed truck trailer or even a railroad flatcar." The idea behind SURUS -- named for Hannibal's war elephants -- is to be an adaptable form of transport that can do anything from carrying injured troops to moving large amounts of cargo like diesel-powered generators in the theater of war.
Mayor of London wants a zero-emission transport system by 2050
London mayor Sadiq Khan has a wildly ambitious plan to make the English capital more environmentally friendly. In a draft "Transport Strategy," which is now subject to public consultation, he suggests making London's entire transport system zero emission by 2050. That deadline, of course, is a long way off, so Khan has outlined some stepping stones too. He wants all taxis and private hire vehicles to be zero emission "capable" by 2033, followed by buses in 2037 and all remaining road vehicles by 2040. "Transport emissions can blight the streets, harming human health and contributing to climate change now and in the future," he says.
France wants autonomous high-speed trains by 2023
According to reports from FranceInfo, the SNCF, France's national state-owned railway company, announced on Friday that it is actively working to develop and deploy autonomous trains that will operate along its high-speed TGV lines by 2023. The so-called "drone trains" should begin initial trials some time in 2019.
ICYMI: Screaming down a magnetic levitation tube
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Hyperloop One is a concept design to put a high-speed transit line between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, cutting the commute time from two hours to 12 minutes. If the 760MPH speed frightens you, perhaps you'd be more interested in Zero Motorcycles' new lineup, which increased range to 200 miles in one charge. If you're interested in Simple Habit the meditation app, that's here, and a news story from Canada on its immigration website crash is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Singapore will trial a full-size autonomous bus
Singapore will trial a pair of driverless buses. No, not micro buses, nor "Ollis" -- full-sized buses, measuring 12 meters (40 feet) long. The vehicles will operate in the Jurong West region of Singapore, where the island's Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is situated. The buses will ferry up to 80 people between NTU and the neighboring "eco-business" hub CleanTech Park -- around a one-mile journey. The team behind the trial is also considering servicing a nearby train station, which would extend the route to around a 5-mile round trip. The vehicles will charge at depots and at bus stops via charging masts.
Sweden debuts the world's first 'electric highway'
Fossil fuels are bad for the planet, and freight haulage is one of the more carbon-intensive activities that operate today. That's why Siemens and Scania have teamed up to trial what's being called the world's first "electric highway." Much like an electrified railroad, the 1.2 mile stretch has a series of wires hanging overhead that a pantograph-equipped truck can connect to. Then, the vehicle can deactivate its fuel-burning engine and coast along on that delicious, dirt-cheap electricity, switching back when the wires stop.
Garmin's Varia radar warns cyclists about traffic they can't see
Six months. That's apparently how long it takes to buy a company, retool their product, and sell it under a new name. Garmin's new Varia Rearview Bike Radar is a rear light that scans up to 140m behind a bicycle for traffic. It then hands that data on to either a compatible Garmin Edge system or a standalone handlebar-mounted unit with an array of lights to warn riders of what's behind them and how fast it's approaching. If you're a keen cyclist, this idea may sound a little familiar. Startup iKubu made a little splash last year with Backtracker, which was essentially the same thing but a little rougher around the edges. Garmin bought the company back in January, and apparently wasted no time turning the Backtracker into what you see above.
Gett's latest expansion takes it beyond Uber in the UK
Uber is finally starting to ramp up its operations in the UK, but it faces tough competition from taxi-booking app Gett. Formerly known as GetTaxi, the company is expanding into 18 new cities today: Oxford, Cambridge, Reading, Slough, Milton Keynes, Brighton, Bristol, Bath, Cardiff, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Leicester, Coventry, Sheffield, Nottingham, Bradford, Hull, and Newcastle. They join London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow and Leeds, taking the app's coverage far beyond its ride-hailing rival.
Uber starts getting serious in the UK
Uber is finally making its move to become an ubiquitous transport service in Britain. For months, the company has been slowly growing with launches in major cities such as Leeds, Birmingham and Newcastle. We've been waiting for the floodgates to open, and it seems that moment has now arrived: last week, the company expanded into Bristol and Sheffield, as well as the smaller towns of Maidenhead, Slough and Windsor. Uber still has plenty of cities left to cover -- it's currently hiring in Belfast, Edinburgh and Glasgow -- but it marks the start of a larger push to become a widely known and accessible service in the UK. Uber's competition is limited to Hailo, Kabbee and a smattering of smaller startups in Britain, so this is the perfect time for it to cement a market-leading position. Increasing its reach and popularity could also work in its favour as it battles the courts and disgruntled taxi drivers.
Uber launches in Newcastle, its sixth UK city
Uber is slowly but surely making inroads in Britain. Today, the company is launching its low-cost UberX service in Newcastle, allowing passengers to request a Toyota Prius (or a similarly specced vehicle) to get around town. It's the sixth UK city for Uber, following London, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Wakefield. Only a week ago the company launched its premium UberExec service in Manchester and Leeds, but we wouldn't be surprised if a similar expansion was already being prepared for "the Toon." Where will Uber strike next? If its online job listings are anything to go by, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Now that the company has a foothold in England, it seems Scotland is next on its hit-list.
Five miles of Hyperloop test track will be built in California
If you were worried that Hyperloop was nothing more than a fantasy, you might be happy to learn that some companies are taking the idea very seriously. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, one of the companies inspired by Elon Musk's idea of making people travel in tubes, has signed a deal to build a five mile test facility in California. The facility will be built by a local developer along Interstate 5, and is expected to begin construction next year. According to CNBC, the scheme will cost an eye-watering $100 million to build and should be up and running by 2019.
Google Now for Android shows alternate flights when yours gets delayed
These days, it's all rush rush rush, isn't it? Our tiny digital assistants are becoming more crucial in getting our days running smoothly, and thanks to a new update to the Google Search Android app, Google Now just got a little bit smarter... at least when it comes to transit and transport. There's nothing like the sinking feeling that strikes when your flight gets delayed (and the existential dread that comes with sitting around an airport for a few more hours), which is why Google bolstered Now with cards that'll highlight alternate flights in case the worst happens to yours. And if you're the sort who prefers traveling on land? Now will also surface your train and bus reservations in card form so you no longer have an excuse for missing the 12:25 to El Paso.
Toyota's first hydrogen car is priced to go head-to-head with Tesla
Sure, Elon Musk is giving away Tesla patents, but don't be surprised if more established manufacturers politely decline his offer. Instead of batteries and electric charging stations, players like General Motors, Mercedes, Honda and Toyota are focusing their efforts on a very different sort of fuel system: hydrogen. Toyota has just revealed that its first commercial hydrogen fuel cell car, a sedan modelled on the earlier FCV concept, will be ready for launch in the US and Europe in the summer of next year, priced at seven million yen (around $69,000, although exact international pricing has yet to be determined). By that time, the hydrogen car and its refueling network may lag significantly behind Tesla's all-electric offerings, which currently start at less than $60,000 for the base model Tesla S with lifetime fuel costs included, but Toyota and other hydrogen pioneers believe that they'll eventually gain the upper hand, thanks to their technology's promise of greater range and quicker refueling.
Safety zealot hid a phone jammer in his SUV to stop other drivers taking calls
If you happen to notice a second-hand Toyota Highlander being offered for a quick sale in Seffner, Florida, you'll know exactly who it belongs to. A local man, Jason Humphreys, has been given 30 days to pay a $48,000 fine after being caught radio-handed with a high-powered phone jammer hidden under his SUV's front passenger seat. When he was pulled over by a squad of FCC agents and police officers, who had spent days tracking the source of the wideband interference emanating from his vehicle, he reportedly told them that he was "fed up with watching cell phone usage while people were driving." Unfortunately for Humphreys, the state of Florida deems it legal for motorists to engage in phone conversations while they're on the move, whereas it severely frowns on the use of unlicensed jamming equipment that can disrupt vital communications between emergency services. The only glimmer of hope for this grumpy vigilante is if he can write to the FCC and somehow stall the fine, but even then he'll likely still face a separate case raised by an even grumpier Sheriff's office. [Image credit: ABC Action News]
AeroVelo is trying to build the world's fastest bicycle
What do you do after you set the record for human-powered flight and bag the Sikorsky Prize by floating around in a pedal-driven helicopter? You break the human-powered speed record, of course -- at least that's what's AeroVelo has planned. The team has made a habit of engineering machines that make the most of the human engine, and their latest project hopes to give mankind the ability to ride bicycles at 87 mph.
What it's like to drive a Tesla Model S in the UK
In a nutshell: more fun and more practical than you might expect, despite the high upfront cost. The right-hand drive model of the Tesla Model S has just arrived in the UK and it instantly transforms the story of electric cars in this country. Instead of being a glossy, distant, sometimes Hollywood-ised drama taking place along the West Coast of America, I find myself looking at a sleek, relatively unostentatious saloon parked up in the grey drizzle of Canning Town, East London. And I'm holding the keys.
