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NYC subways get tap-to-ride turnstiles starting late 2018
New York City's plan to modernize its mass transit payments is getting underway... although you definitely won't want to chuck your MetroCard any time soon. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is greenlighting a hefty $573 million contract that will install NFC-equipped fare systems across NYC. The plan should start installing readers in 600 buses and 500 subway turnstiles starting in late 2018, so you may tap your phone or card sooner than you might have thought (there was talk of a rollout in 2021). The rollout won't reach every corner of the city (plus Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North trains) until late 2020, though, so it won't be consistently convenient for a while.
Electric bus sets record with 1,101-mile trip on a single charge
Think it was impressive when a Tesla club drove a Model S nearly 670 miles? It has nothing on what Proterra just managed. The startup just drove a Catalyst E2 Max electric bus a whopping 1,101.2 miles on a single charge. That's the furthest any EV has managed before recharging, and well past the 1,013.8 miles driven by the previous record-holder, a one-seat experimental car nicknamed "Boozer." It's not hard to see how Proterra managed the feat when you know about the technology, but this still bodes well for eco-friendly public transportation.
Hyundai shifts focus from fuel cell cars to EVs
Fuel cell champion Hyundai is changing direction with its product strategy, announcing that it will now focus on electric vehicles. The shift comes after Tesla and other electric vehicle manufacturers have gained traction in the field, and following Chinese government backing for battery-powered cars. "We're strengthening our eco-friendly car strategy, centering on electric vehicles," executive vice president Lee Kwang-guk told a news conference, adding that the technology was "realistic". Hyundai now plans to have an electric sedan on the road by 2021, with a range of 500km. Also on the cards is an electric version of its 390km-range Kona SUV, due in the first half of 2018.
Citymapper to launch a weekend night bus service in London
Citymapper's brief bus experiment in London was more than a one-off. The company, which runs an independent transport and navigation app, is now planning a permanent bus route in the middle of East London. Like its two-day trial in May, the new service will utilise bright green buses equipped with USB ports for charging (a godsend when you're traveling home at the end of a long day) and a big screen upfront with regularly updated route information. Unlike before, however, this service won't be free; you'll have to pay a small fee with a contactless card, Apple Pay or Android Pay.
China's 'elevated' bus was a scam after all
Remember that Chinese public transit experiment running an elevated bus over 300 meters of track along a major roadway? Unfortunately, the test site started gathering dust as "financial problems" and other suspicious setbacks reportedly set in months after the oddball vehicle's unveiling. But now it's official: Chinese authorities believe the whole thing was a scam and have started investigating (and arresting) accordingly.
Route planner Citymapper experiments with its own bus service
Citymapper is known for its popular route-planning app that helps people get around town. This week, though, the company is taking a more active approach to transportation, operating an actual bus route in London. CMX1 will only run from Tuesday, May 9th, through Wednesday, and it'll be free for all passengers. As you'd expect, it'll also feature in the Citymapper app and show up in route suggestions where appropriate. But what might surprise you is this isn't quite the marketing stunt it appears at first to be. Citymapper is legitimately thinking about becoming a public transportation player.
China's elevated bus test site has been abandoned for months
Remember China's wacky Transit Elevated Bus aka TEB which promised to carry passengers over traffic? Well, we have some bad news for you. China News reported that the 22-meter-long prototype unveiled in early August had been collecting dust in its hangar for well over two months, according to the two old men who were guarding the vacated test site in Qinhuangdao. One of them added that he could no longer contact his employer. A quick look at the project's still-functioning website is just as worrying, with its latest post dating back to September 15th.
London Mayor commits to greener bus fleet
As part of ongoing efforts to curb pollution in the capital, London Mayor Sadiq Khan today announced that all new single-decker buses for the centre of town will be zero-emissions vehicles, and that no more pure diesel double-deckers will be added to the network from 2018. At an event today, Khan also showed off the "world's first" hydrogen fuel cell double-decker, which will be trialled in the capital next year. In total, 20 of these buses -- which are hydrogen/electric hybrids -- will eventually be added to the fleet.
Ford CEO Mark Fields looks to a future beyond car ownership
Ford CEO Mark Fields has been moving the automaker into ventures outside of its normal core business of selling cars for a few years now. His LA Auto Show keynote touched on the company's current undertakings and future plans. Engadget sat down to talk with Fields about the automaker's post-car-ownership road map, its partnerships with public transportation and the company's plan to bring autonomous taxis to the market in 2021.
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.
Toyota's hydrogen buses can work as emergency generators
Toyota will start selling fuel cell (FC) buses in 2017, with the aim of selling up to 100 in the Tokyo area ahead of the 2020 Olympic games. The company is using a beefed up version of the fuel system it developed for the Toyota Murai, with 10 high pressure tanks holding 600 liters of highly compressed H2. That gives it 235 kWh or power, about three times that of a Tesla Model S, meaning it "can be used as a power source in the event of disasters," the company said in a press release.
Transit's app now tells you when to hurry for the bus
Sure, your existing phone apps can tell you when to catch the bus and when to hop off, but public transportation fans know that's only half the story. What if the driver is quicker than you expected, or a delay ruins your subway connection? Transit might just save the day. It's updating its Android and iOS apps with a Go routing feature that could take some of the uncertainty out of commuting. You'll get on-screen and voice notifications when it's time to head out or disembark, but it gets truly interesting when things go haywire. Transit will tell you to hurry up if your departure time suddenly skips ahead, create a new itinerary if you miss a ride and warn you if a bus takes a surprise detour.
New York: Don't use your Galaxy Note 7 on the subway
Samsung just can't catch a break. On top of aviation regulators and safety officials warning against using pre-recall versions of the Galaxy Note 7, New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority now says that Note 7 owners are "urged" against using or charging their phone on buses and trains. You should turn it off before entering the station, the MTA says. This isn't a formal ban, but it's safe to say that you'll be a persona non grata if the Authority catches you using the fire-prone handset on the subway.
US mulls speed-limiting devices for buses and big rigs
Large vehicles like buses and big rig trucks are just as much of a safety concern as everyday cars, and US regulators think technology might be the key to saving lives. The NHTSA and FMCS have proposed installing speed-limiting devices on big commercial vehicles (those with a weight rating over 26,000lbs) to both reduce the chances of a crash and minimize damage when an accident happens. It could help with fuel efficiency and durability, too, by discouraging lead-footed drivers.
Russia's search giant is making a self-driving shuttle bus
Internet search giants making self-driving cars appears to be a trend, and Russia's Yandex wants in. It's partnering with Daimler, truck maker Kamaz and government-backed researchers at NAMI on an autonomous shuttle bus that could carry up to 12 people and travel about 124 miles on a charge. Yandex is contributing its experiences with artificial intelligence, computer vision and voice recognition, and it'll even be central to the interface -- you'll use a Yandex-linked mobile app to pinpoint your destination.
London buses to show live traffic updates in rear windows
Over time, transport authorities have improved how they share important road travel news. Roadside signs can give a driver an important heads-up during journeys and apps can notify travellers before they've even left the house. As part of a new trial, Transport for London (TfL) wants to reduce the temptation for motorists to look at their phones while on the move by displaying live traffic information on the back of London's buses.
China's elevated bus demoed with cars driving underneath
Six years ago, China came up with a super wacky idea: A large straddling bus that can let cars drive under it, which could be a cost-effective way to skip over congested traffic while carrying hundreds of passengers a pop. Today, this concept has evolved from a miniature model to a full-scale moving mockup, as unveiled in Hebei province's Qinhuangdao city yesterday. This "Transit Elevated Bus" or "TEB" in short is designed to handle 300 passengers, and it comes in at 22 meters long, 7.8 meters wide (covering two lanes) plus 4.8 meters tall. That's right, it's only a tad taller than a double-decker bus for the sake of existing bridges in China, so only cars less than two meters tall can drive under the TEB.
Tesla Master Plan pt. 2 explains how everyone gets an electric car
Back in 2006 Elon Musk casually revealed the plans for what Tesla Motors has mostly accomplished in the decade since, and now (after some teasing) he's back with part two. While the original "Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan" explained how the company's vision extended beyond its Roadster to cars that would become the Model S and Model 3, what's next is even bigger. Besides adding a compact SUV and pickup truck to its model line, don't expect to see any Tesla's coming out that are cheaper than the Model 3. Instead, as Musk envisions, the rollout of fully self-driving automobiles will allow owners to put their car to work when they're not using it, and make ownership economically viable for anyone (of course, it's worth noting that car companies like Ford and GM are working on similar plans of their own).
ICYMI: Mercedes makes a self-driving bus for the masses
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Mercedes made a new class of vehicle to take on mass transit systems by autonomously navigating city streets with GPS, radar, dozens of cameras and data links to local networks. It was tested outside Amsterdam; no word yet on when they will roll out for real. Some Michigan engineering students are creating a huge and playable Rubik's Cube, that video is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Olli is an IBM Watson-powered driverless electric bus
You might see a cute, driverless bus roaming the streets of Washington DC starting today. It's called Olli, and it's an autonomous electric minibus designed by Local Motors, which you might remember as the company that's planning to sell 3D-printed cars this year. While the automaker itself designed the 12-seater's self-driving system, it teamed up with IBM to use Watson's capabilities to power the EV's other features. Thanks to Watson, you can tell Olli where you're heading in natural language ("I'd like to go to [workplace.]") and ask it questions about how the technology works. Best of all, it won't kick you out even if you keep asking "Are we there yet?"
