(Source: Green Car Congress)

Daimler AG and leading energy companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Berlin, with the participation of the German Minister of Transport, Wolfgang Tiefensee, to evaluate and expand the setup of a hydrogen infrastructure in Germany to support the series production of fuel cell electric vehicles. In addition to Daimler, partners in the “H2 Mobility” initiative include EnBW, Linde, OMV, Shell, Total, Vattenfall and the NOW GmbH (National Organization Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology). The project is open for other interested partners.

The H2 Mobility launch comes one day after leading automakers signed a Letter of Understanding regarding the commercialization and series production of fuel cell electric vehicles from 2015 onward. Noting the importance of a hydrogen infrastructure with sufficient density, the automakers—Daimler, Ford, GM/Opel, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Renault Nissan Alliance, and Toyota—in that LoU strongly supported building up a hydrogen infrastructure in Europe, with Germany as regional starting point, among other global starting points. (Earlier post.)

The H2 Mobility partners noted that significant progress has been made in Germany in recent years with the development of hydrogen based technologies in the mobility sector, marking the country as a potential start-market in the context of a broader European perspective.

The German government is also developing a plan to provide financial incentives starting in 2012 to support the production and sale of 100,000 electric cars annually. The plan envisages around one million electric cars on German roads by 2020. (Earlier post.)

Germany already has a leading position regarding the hydrogen infrastructure in Europe, with initial hydrogen centers having been established in urban agglomerations such as Berlin and Hamburg. Seven of the current thirty hydrogen fueling stations in Germany are integrated into public gas stations. Already five to ten hydrogen fuelling stations can secure a first supply in a major city. The partnership envisions connecting those urban agglomerations with supply corridors on main arteries to establish the essential prerequisites for nationwide development.

A fleet of 40 hydrogen vehicles is part of the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) in Berlin and Hamburg. The CEP is aiming to demonstrate the suitability for daily use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel for vehicles and to test the infrastructure of hydrogen fuelling stations.

Since 1994, Daimler has invested more than €1 billion (US$1.5 billion) in the development of fuel cells. With more than 100 test vehicles and more than 4.5 million kilometers of test runs in total, Daimler has one of the largest fuel-cell vehicle fleets of passenger cars and buses worldwide.

Click here to read the entire article.

TransportGooru Musings: Germany is not the only European nation that has showed some love for hydrogen vehicles.   Norway is the other frontrunner in the hydrogen fuel economy and has made noteworthy investments (learn about Norway’s initiatives in building a hydrogen refueling infrastructure here).  As more nations are exploring the possibilities of hydrogen fuel vehicles in the future, the United States seem to think the other way.   The funding for hydrogen fuel vehicles has been cut down significantly in past years and that has put the program on life support.

If I wear my “forecaster” hat for a minute, I see in the near future a big jump in the number of electric hybrid vehicles flooding the market.   The long range perspective is a bit more of a mix – both hydrogen and electric vehicles equally mixed.  Now, this short term projection is causing a bit of a concern for some due to the fact that the current battery technology is not the best to sustain our energy needs for uninterrupted transportation. Some of them battery research is evolving  in directions that can eat up some of teh precious mineral reserves.  For example, the Lithium reserves in Bolivia (supposedly the largest in the world) would become the equivalent of today’s oil and the battery manufacturers might inadvertantly create a new monster in their quest for batteries that can hold charger for an extended period of time.  We do not want to create another OPEC that meddles with the price of our minerals market.   I read somewhere that China has already banned the export of some precious minerals which are used in battery reserach and has clearly shown its interest in siphoning off these resources for its domestic markets.  At some point in time we may need an alternative to our current Lithium ion battery tech and the only other tech that is promisingly clean and relatively cheaper is hydrogen.  That said, we can continue to argue about the economics and cost/benefits of H2 Vehicle vs Electric vehicle tech, but such arguments become pointless when we consider the cost of social problems (such as war/fight over natural resources, etc).   To avoid getting trapped into another mono-fuel model (i.e., electric or electric-hybrid, which anyway doesn’t fully fit into his mono-fuel model) like we are locked in now, the Government of United States should continue to invest in developing a viable hydrogen fuel technology that can equally compete with electric or electric-hybrid vehicles in terms of afforadability and efficiency.

• GIS-related airport tour of Manchester International Airport
• Diverse array of airport GIS-related presentations/demonstrations from airport GIS personnel, government officials, consultants and vendors
• Exhibit opportunities
• Sponsorship opportunities

All sessions, with the exception of the airport tour, will take place at the Renaissance Manchester Hotel. The conference will begin with registration and the welcome reception at 1830 on Tuesday, October 6. The general session will begin at 830 on Wednesday, October 7 and conclude at 1700 on Thursday, October 8. The registration fee includes all handout materials, the welcome reception, two luncheons and all coffee breaks. Dress is business attire. The Web site for the Renaissance Manchester Hotel is:www.renaissancemanchester.co.uk.

Click here for more details.

The Saudi government is building a $1.8 billion monorail to ferry pilgrims among the holy sites of Mecca, Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah. Once complete, the Saudis estimate 53,000 buses will disappear from the city’s crowded roads, promising a safer, more comfortable pilgrimage. (FYI – For those not in the know, Monorail is a single rail serving as the track for a wheeled or (magnetically) levitating vehicle, has been rapidly paving its way as a modern urban transit system, providing the most-sought-after transportation solutions for a built-up congested city.)

The monorail will be built over the next four years, with the first segment — roughly 35 percent of the project, by one estimate — opening in time for this year’s Hajj between November 25 and 29. Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims must complete if they have the means and ability to do so, is the fifth Pillar of Islam and as such attracts a staggering number of pilgrims.

Arab News quotes Dr. Habeeb Zain Al-Abidine, the Deputy Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Secretary-General of the Commission for Development of Makkah, Madinah and the Holy Sites , saying that a feasibility study conducted by an international company had proposed five monorails linking the holy sites.  The project is expected to facilitate the transportation of more than three million pilgrims between the holy sites.  “The feasibility study suggested the second monorail be built two to three years after the construction of the first one,” he said, adding that a single monorail would cost SR4 billion. The first monorail beginning from Mina will transport nearly one million pilgrims including 360,000 Arab pilgrims. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the Ministry of Transport and the Higher Commission for the Development of Makkah and Madinah have all reviewed a study of the project and welcome it. The study was prepared by the International Transport Projects Company, which is now contacting Saudi authorities to obtain the appropriate license to implement the project.

The Arab News also says that Makkah monorails will be 8 to 10 meters above the ground to ensure smooth flow of pedestrians and vehicles.  “The monorail project will help withdraw about 53,000 buses and other vehicles being used by pilgrims coming by land from within the Kingdom and neighboring GCC countries,” the report said.

The committee said the monorail would pass by three stations in Arafat, Muzdalifah and Mina. The last station in Mina will be on the fourth flour of the Jamarat Bridge.   Controlled access to the monorail is intended to avoid accidents such as the tragedy at Mina in 2006, when more than 350 people died in a stampede after two busloads of pilgrims disembarked at the entrance to the Jamarat Bridge holy site. Trains on four elevated tracks will carry as many as 20,000 pilgrims an hour in an orderly fashion.   The project also includes parking facilities so that pilgrims can park their cars at the entrance of Makkah and then board the monorail.

Wait!  This is not the only rail activity happening in Saudi Arabia.  It is interesting to note how the Saudi Government is making strategic investments in rail projects arond the country.  Back in April, Arab News published an article about the Saudi Government’s plan for expanding the railway network across the country and beyond.  The Kingdom’s railway expansion envisages 3,900 km of new track. In addition to the Landbridge Project linking the Kingdom’s east with its west, two other major new rail projects are moving closer. These include a 450-km high-speed Haramain railway to link Jeddah with Makkah and Madinah.  

Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf announced plans to establish a new railway system linking the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emriates.   “GCC leaders have given preliminary approval for the project. The final decision will depend on its feasibility,” Al-Assaf said.

Talking about Chinese role in building railway infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the other rail project is 275-mile high-speed rail system linking Mecca and Medina through Jeddah to be built by China Railway Engineering.  China’s involvement in both projects  (HSR and Monrail) reportedly was clinched during Chinese Prime Minister Hu Jintao’s visit to Saudi Arabia in February, during which representatives of Chinese Railway Corp. met with Saudi Prince Miteb bin Abdulaziz, chairman of the commission for developing the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.  (FYI – The Mecca deal highlighted the growing role of China in Saudi Arabia’s plan to commit 450 billion riyals (S$180 billion) to major infrastructure, education and new cities projects over the next five years.  China is already one of the top buyers of oil from Saudi Arabia, importing 36 million tonnes of Saudi crude last year, according to Chinese figures.)

Mansour Al-Maiman, secretary-general of PIF and chairman of Saudi Railway Company, said the North-South Railway would be ready next year for the transportation of minerals. He said the passenger railway linking Riyadh, Sudair, Qassim and Hail would be floated for tenders within a few days, adding that the work on the project would be completed by 2012.  Once complete, the North-South rail link woulc connect mineral-rich Jalamid belt with smelters in Ras Al-Zour near the eastern industrial city of Jubail.

The North-South Railway is given priority due to its importance to industrial development. It is integral to planned phosphate and bauxite mining projects in the north of the country that will link up with processing and smelters on the Gulf coast.  French defense group Thales and construction giant Saudi Binladin Group were awarded an SR1.7 billion ($453 million) contract to build signaling, ticketing, communications and security systems for the 2,400-km long North-South Railway.

The Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark

1 South Broadway, St. Louis, MO 63102

IBTTA and ITS America Join Forces on Sustainable Transportation and Facility Maintenance

Register today for this groundbreaking joint conference, Sustainability, Social Responsibility, Energy Conservation and Fall Maintenance, October 4-6, 2009 at the Hilton Hotel in St. Louis.

Agenda highlights include:

• Congressman (MO-3rd) Russ Carnahan;
• “Four Legs” of Sustainable Transportation presented by John Charles, President & CEO, Cascade Policy Institute and his expert panel, including Allen Biehler, President of AASHTO and Michael Replogle, Global Policy Director of ITDP;
• Dennis Archer, Chairman, Dickinson Wright, PLLC, and Former Mayor of Detroit will discuss the role of the federal government in promoting sustainable transportation policies for metropolitan areas;
• Views of the FHWA and the US DOT ITS Joint Program Office on operational strategies, policies and supporting ITS Technologies and their impacts on climate change;
• 21st Century Roadway Maintenance and more.

Meeting Host: The Missouri Department of Transportation; Organization Sponsors: AASHTO, The Bipartisan Policy Center and the Missouri Valley Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

Supporting Organizations

Visit IBTTA’s website for information on registration, hotel reservations, exhibiting or sponsorship.  Show below is the conference agenda.

(Source:  The Transport Politic)

It would be nice to imagine effective mass transit connections at high-speed terminals, but they are not necessary to build ridership. Rather, we should focus on concentrating high-intensity development in station-area zones.

As the debate over spending on high-speed rail evolves into a full-fledged argument, opponents have focused in on the matter of connectivity to dispute the notion that U.S. railways would attract enough riders. American cities suffer from inadequate transit, and the thinking goes that people would as a result continue to choose auto and air travel even if high-speed trains provided excellent intercity service. The conclusion of this line of reasoning is that the government should invest in urban transit before it moves on to high-speed rail, though it should be noted that many of the same people fighting rail on these grounds have previously stated their opposition to spending on public transportation.

I discussed the basic fallacy in this argument last week — namely, that intercity and urban travel markets are different and that we have a responsibility to invest in both; we cannot simply abandon efforts to improve the ability of people to move between cities. But the point raised by rail opponents deserves to be adequately addressed. Will rail find riders even if no transit is available in the environs of stations? Should we invest in a travel mode that has been successful in densely developed regions in Europe or Asia when the U.S. is so sprawled out?

National Public Radio broadcast a sob story from a woman who traveled on Amtrak from Greensboro to Raleigh, North Carolina, only to find what she claimed was “no” bus service at the arrival station, requiring her to walk “along broken pavement on a street without a sidewalk” and then wait 15 minutes for public transportation. She stated that this process was so difficult that she would probably drive the next time she took the trip because of the difficulty of the end of the commute. The story’s conclusion was that the woman’s situation exemplified the state of transit in many cities and that future rail ridership might be hampered by these problems.

Leave behind for a moment the fact that the bus she took stopped literally one block away from the station, that it runs every 10 to 15 minutes throughout the day, that is it free, and that it serves Downtown Raleigh’s major museums the poor lady was hoping to visit with her nephew. The bus would qualify as good transit service in most American cities, so the woman’s experience may be more a reflection of the city’s bad signage and her limited experience in riding the bus than some systematic problem in transit provision.

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: NPR)

Today, NPR had an interesting coverage of DC’s newest addition to its growing biking infrastructure.  Just outside Washington, D.C.’s central train station, construction is under way on a sleek, modern, glass-and-metal bike garage. Here is the audio snippet (via Apture):

“Some people say it’s a half-football or a shell,” says Mazen Soueidan, the project manager. “It has four sides [with] scalloped shells that overlap.”

Once completed, the Bikestation will hold 130 bikes, lockers and a small shop for repairs. Located next to the Metro subway exit at Union Station, the system will provide secure bike storage for commuters who want to cycle through Washington once they arrive from “feeder” cities like Baltimore.

Image courtesy: The City Fix DC

Of course, part of the appeal of bicycling is convenience — you can lock a bike to pretty much anything.

But if you lock your bike to a parking meter, you might come back to find it’s missing a seat or wheels, or it’s just gone. Soueidan says theft was an issue even while building the bike garage.

Set to open in October, the Bikestation will require either an annual membership or a daily usage fee.

Paine says introducing the system to Washington is part of a larger shift toward “dispelling the notion that the car is an essential part of our daily lifestyle.”

John Ciccarelli of Bicycle Solutions in San Mateo, Calif., agrees. “What’s growing is acceptance that the bicycle is a mode of transportation as well as recreation,” he said.

Image Courtesy: NPR - Levered arms inside the bike garage allow bicycles to be stored one on top of the other.

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: PBS’ Blueprint America)

The majority of American goods are transported by trucks, even though freight trains are greener and more fuel-efficient. Where should America be placing its bets for moving our economy and what would you personally sacrifice for it?

Blueprint America — with NOW on PBS — in a report with correspondent Miles O’Brien looks at the massive amount of freight moved throughout the country — mainly by trucks on an aging highway infrastructure that’s crumbling and bursting at the seams. With projected population growth and a rebounding economy, experts say it is only going to get worse.

So as Congress begins a major rewrite of the nation’s transportation laws, many are asking if it is time to redirect freight traffic off congested highways onto more environmentally friendly and fuel efficient railroads. Sounds good, but there is a catch. Unlike highways that receive public funding, railroads are private. Should taxpayers sink public money into a private railway system? And where should the money come from?

Blueprint America Correspondent Miles O’Brien looks at the contemporary needs, challenges, and solutions for transporting vital cargo across America, and how those decisions affect the way you live, work, and travel.

(Source:  Time)

Q’Orianka Kilcher has never pumped a gallon of gasoline into her car. Never. Then again, she’s never owned a car that needed gasoline. You could say she is at ground zero of the ZE, or zero-emission, vehicle future.

A 19-year-old actress living in Santa Monica, Calif. (she played Pocahontas in the 2005 movie The New World), Q’Orianka (pronounced Quor-ee-anka) is on her second hydrogen-fuel-cell car, a Honda FCX Clarity, a four-door with a 200-mile range. “I don’t think I will ever buy a gas car,” she says. “I can go everywhere I want to go with this. Plus, it’s a guy magnet.”

Auto-marketing gurus take note: the brave new world of ZE cars is here, ready or not, and please make them sexy.

“ZEs are an entirely different paradigm,” says Stephen Ellis, manager of fuel-cell-vehicle marketing for American Honda Motor Co. in Torrance, Calif. Ellis manages the rare $600-a-month leases (including free hydrogen fill-ups) for the FCX Clarity. “Knowing how to integrate these new technologies into existing lifestyles and then building new infrastructures to make it work is the trick,” says Ellis. “It took a hundred years to create the gasoline infrastructure; this will be much faster.”

There are three types of zero, or near zero, emission cars: electric plug-ins, hybrid plug-ins and hydrogen fuel cells (which create power by having oxygen and hydrogen pass over electricity-generating electrodes). But each major automaker has its own take on which advanced technology will win 10 years down the road.

Nissan, for example, is pedal-to-the-metal with pure electric cars, having skipped fuel-cell technology altogether. It considers “interim hybrid technology,” like Toyota’s successful Prius, a mere passing phase. “The market-share winner will be the one that offers affordable, mass-market, zero-emission vehicles with a zero payback period for premium technologies,” says Mark Perry, director of the product planning and strategy group for Nissan North America.

In contrast to Nissan, Honda has passed up pure electrics, preferring instead to bank on lower-cost hybrids (Civic and Insight) and hydrogen fuel cells. Ellis, however, claims no distinction should be made between “FCs” and electrics, since a fuel-cell car is basically an electric car powered by hydrogen-created electricity.

Then there is Toyota, the 800-pound hybrid gorilla. Toyota has yet a third route to success: muscling up on its hybrid strength.

“We believe in not being first to market but being best to market,” says Mary Nickerson, who is in charge of advanced-vehicle marketing at Toyota Motor Sales, also in Torrance. Last year, Toyota reached the 1 million sales mark with its Prius hybrid (gas-powered with fuel-saving electric technology).

“Our strategy is to be the hybrid masters, no pure electrics, and to explore fuel-cell technology,” says Nickerson. “We feel it’s going to take a lot more than one technology to make this new market work.”

Some 21% of consumers will not consider a pure electric car because of the need to plug-in at home, according Nickerson. “We believe that 10 years out, the winners will be all new technologies, but hybrids will be the largest winner of them all.”

Then again, as Honda’s Ellis says, “It all depends on the price of gas.”

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: CNN)

We have all heard numerous stories about the bad treatment meted out to passengers by the airline staff and airline managements around the country. Among many such stories, one recent incident got a lot of scrutiny and prompted Government action.   On August 8, Continent ExpressJet 21816 enroute to Minneapolis from Houston,  with 47 passengers onboard was left waiting for clearance overnight on a tarmac in Rochester, Minnesota.

As the hours — going on six of them — passed, he said the air in the ExpressJet for Continental Airlines cabin grew rank. The two babies on board cried. The toilet filled and stopped flushing. No food was served and the puddle-jumper seats made sleep, for him, impossible. All the while, the airport was visible from the plane.

The much-publicized story of Flight 2816, diverted to Rochester because of bad weather while en route to Minneapolis from Houston, Texas, has brought to the forefront a growing demand to institute passenger rights.

Advocacy groups are fielding calls, gathering momentum and preparing for a September 22 hearing in Washington. One organization recently bought cable television ad time hoping to reach President Obama on his vacation and earn his support, just as a bill to protect fliers from such incidents heads to the Senate floor.

Since the Rochester incident, there have been other tarmac strandings. Passengers on a Sun Country Airlines flight were trapped for about six hours on August 21 while at JFK International Airport in New York. That prompted the airline’s CEO to announce last week a four-hour maximum deadline for tarmac sittings, Minnesota’s Star Tribune reported. The first “massive tarmac stranding” to spark outcries and stir up calls for legislation came in January 1999, said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition. That was when about 3,500 passengers were trapped during a snowstorm for up to 13 hours on Michigan’s Detroit Metro Airport tarmacs, he said.

The 2007 Valentine’s Day crisis involving JetBlue flights, which included strandings of up to 10 hours at JFK International, in Mitchell’s opinion eventually cost the then-CEO his job.  A couple of months before that mess, Kate Hanni was one of the passengers caught up in a December 2006 storm fallout in Texas that left her and her family on an Austin, Texas, tarmac for more than nine hours.

“People miss funerals, weddings, cruise ships, business meetings — it has an impact on their lives,” said Hanni, whose outrage about that air travel experience pushed her create FlyersRights.org.

“And it’s not just a customer service issue,” she continued, mentioning overflowing toilets and people with diabetes or other medical conditions. “It’s about safety, dignity and well-being.”

In late July, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee passed the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act, which includes the Airline Passengers Bill of Rights, first written in 2007 by Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-California, and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine. The FAA reauthorization bill will next move to the Senate for consideration.

Calling attention to the frustrations of flying is what Hanni, 49, is all about. If someone phones while trapped on a tarmac, she’ll start ringing the airline and airport managers, demanding help. If the response she gets is insufficient, she threatens and is poised to call media. Since the Rochester incident earlier this month, she said she’s been interviewed more than 50 times.

In June, 278 airplanes sat on tarmacs for more than three hours, according to a consumer report released by the DOT. The department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics shows that 42 of the June flights sat on tarmacs for four hours or more.

Click here to read the entire article.

TransportGooru Musings: If you are one of the poor souls who was stuck for hours inside a metal tube, sign the petition and join teh crusaders in the fight for an Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights (via flyersrights.org) .
http://www.petitiononline.com/airline/petition.html