President Obama Announces $2.4 Billion in Funding to Support Next Generation Electric Vehicles

March 20, 2009 at 1:40 pm

(Source: U.S. Department of Energy; Photo Courtesy: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty via Autoblog)

DOE Support for Advanced Battery Manufacturing and Electric Vehicle Deployment to Create Tens of Thousands of U.S. Jobs

On March 19th, President Barack Obama announced the availability of $2.4 billion in funding to put American ingenuity and America’s manufacturers to work producing next generation Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles and the advanced battery components that will make these vehicles run. The initiative will create tens of thousands of U.S. jobs and help us end our addiction to foreign oil. Americans who decide to purchase these Plug-in Hybrid vehicles can claim a tax credit of up to $7,500.

“This investment will not only reduce our dependence on foreign oil, it will put Americans back to work,” President Obama said. “It positions American manufacturers on the cutting edge of innovation and solving our energy challenges.”

While visiting Southern California Edison’s Electric Vehicle Center, the President announced the following:

  • The Department of Energy is offering up to $1.5 billion in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce these highly efficient batteries and their components.
  • The Department of Energy is offering up to $500 million in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce other components needed for electric vehicles, such as electric motors and other components.
  • The Department of Energy is offering up to $400 million to demonstrate and evaluate Plug-In Hybrids and other electric infrastructure concepts — like truck stop charging station, electric rail, and training for technicians to build and repair electric vehicles.

 

Click here to read the entire DOE press release. Or, Click here to read the President’s remarks.  Shown below is Part I of the video from the event, courstey of  You Tube (Part I & Part II).

HUD and USDOT Announce Joint Sustainable Communities Initiative

March 20, 2009 at 12:18 pm

 (Source: The Transport Politic)

HUD and DOT will encourage communities to combine federally-mandated metropolitan area housing and transportation plans 

During the campaign, now-President Barack Obama argued that the federal government could contribute to the planning and development of neighborhoods around the country through a livable communities initiative, arguing that “Our communities will better serve all of their residents if we are able to leave our cars to walk, bicycle and access other transportation alternatives.” Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan testified today on the issue in front of the House Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing (part of the Appropriations Committee).

Both Secretaries argued that transportation and housing had to be planned together in order to handle the rising costs of both for most American households. Each pointed out that providing housing near public transportation allows for lower transportation costs and argued that transportation and housing in the United States should be organized in order to address climate change concerns.

HUD and DOT will establish a Sustainable Communities Initiative, which will encourage transit-oriented development. The initiative will encouraged integrated planning with HUD and DOT working together on neighborhood projects by encouraging metropolitan areas to consolidate their current government-mandated five-year housing plans and four-year transportation plans, both of which are used to determine federal formula appropriations to communities. The program will also consider transportation costs when determining the level of affordability in communities and develop “livability measures” to benchmark improvements that can be made to communities through federal funding. Finally, HUD and DOT programs and research will be “harmonized.”

Click here to read the entire article.  Click here to read a related article on tihs subject from the TransportGooru archives.

Brookings scholar articulates the connections between housing and transportation and the need for integrated planning

March 20, 2009 at 10:12 am

(Source: Brookings Institute)

Brookings Senior Fellow Robert Puentes tells a House Appropriations panel this week that “how and where we build in the future carries far-reaching implications for the health of our environment, our energy security, and our economic recovery and will continue to impact our metropolitan areas’ success and our ability to compete globally.”

Unfortunately, the U.S. track record here is not good.  Puentes’ research shows that between 1980 and 2000, the growth of the largest 99 metro areas in the continental U.S. consumed 16 million acres of rural land, or about one acre for every new household.5Indicative of this outward sprawl is the fact that more than 70 percent of the 100 largest metros’ recent population growth over the same period of time occurred outside of principal cities—the largest and most established cities within each metro in terms of population and employment.

Click here to read or download Mr. Puentes’ testimony to the House Appropriations panel.  Shown below is the read-only version of the PDF document.

Londoners receive new marching orders — pedestrians will have to walk faster under Mayor Boris Johnson plan

March 19, 2009 at 4:42 pm

(Source: Times Online, UK; Photo via Mail online, UK)

Pedestrians will be made to walk faster on crossings under a plan favouring motorists that Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has proposed.

Digital signs that count down the seconds until cars get a green light would be introduced at 6,000 sets of lights. Those on foot will lose up to six seconds of crossing time during each phase.

The signs are part of the mayor’s plan to give more green time to traffic at the expense of pedestrians. He hopes that pedestrians will either speed up as they see the countdown approaching zero or, if they are slow walkers, wait at the kerb for the next green man phase.

Mr Johnson hopes that the extra green time will smooth the flow of traffic and help to cope with the increase in cars expected next year when he halves the size of the congestion charge zone.

People used to having a certain time to cross at their local lights may suddenly find themselves halfway across the road as the traffic starts to move. The number of green man phases each hour will also fall. Road safety groups fear this will lead to more jaywalking and more collisions.

Mr Johnson has asked the Department for Transport for permission to install the country’s first pedestrian countdown signs. Other authorities are interested in the technology, used in many cities abroad, including Copenhagen, Los Angeles and Singapore. In Taipei and Istanbul, the green man walks faster shortly before the lights change, encouraging pedestrians to mimic him and increase their pace.

Click here to read the rest of this interestesting article.

Planning to visit Chicago? Better check your car insurance! Chicago’s Traffic Lights May Scan for Car Insurance

March 19, 2009 at 12:57 pm

 (Source: Gizmodo)

It wouldn’t matter if you ran the light or were driving conscientiously. The proposed system would exploit both existing stoplight cameras and general security cameras to scan your plate and hand it over to the InsureNet database. If InsureNet discovered that you were lacking insurance, you’d receive a $300-$500 ticket in the mail.

Click here to read the entire article.

To buy American or Foreign? The Argument for Buying Domestic Over Foreign

March 19, 2009 at 12:39 pm

(Source: TreeHugger; Photo via: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com)

The American auto industry has gotten a bad wrap over the years, and justly so in many ways. While a lot of negative responses continue to circulate around the Big Three, their Bailout, and their past inferior vehicles, they have actually risen above this ridicule and at the very least deserve a second look.

Bankruptcy
While a lot of consumers may be hesitant to purchase a vehicle from any manufacturer who is talking the possibility of bankruptcy, you should know that they are obligated to their warranty coverage no matter what happens to them. It is a binding contract from both sides of the pen. And while a lot of consumers are under the dilution that the foreign manufacturers are doing that much better than the American manufacturers, in truth they are also beginning to feel the pinch of the recession and have been asking for their own brand of bailout from their government.

Quality Rivals Japan
The Japan manufacturer has enjoyed being the top dogs for many years among the consumer ratings and ranking. However a very unsuspecting competitor has risen from the depths of gas guzzling SUVs and has begun to rival Japan’s quality, reliability, safety, and environmental friendliness… the domestics. In fact, both the ChevroletScryve Corporate Social Responsibility RatingMalibu and Ford Fusion are ranked right along with the Honda Accord and ToyotaScryve Corporate Social Responsibility RatingCamry according to U.S.News. Aside from these, J.D. Power and Associates second this praise, rating American brands as equivalent to such heavy hitters as Audi, Acura, BMW, Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz in overall quality.

Click here to read the entire article.

The future is here – Terrafugia “Flying Car” Makes First Flight

March 19, 2009 at 11:21 am

(Source:  Jalopnik)

This morning it’s official — the future is now. The Terrafugia Transition (R), the first plausible “flying car” (or more precisely, a “roadable aircraft”), took its first official flight earlier this month. 

 Terrafugia press conference at 9:30 AM this morning offered the following details:  The two-seat aircraft is able to fly 450 miles at over 115 MPH and is designed to transform from plane to car in less than 30 seconds.  Click here to read the entire press release.

The Transition, their first “roadable aircraft” (we’re going to go ahead and call it a Jetsons-like “flying car”), took its official first flight on March 5th, 2009 at Plattsburgh International Airport. It’s the first time we’ve seen an actually plausible“roadable aircraft” work in real life.

 Click here to view the full gallery of Terrafugia.  Also, Here is an awesome video from YouTube showing the vehicle in action.

Hybrid cars sales in the US are falling at a ‘breakneck pace’

March 18, 2009 at 3:30 pm

(Source: Financial Times)

Despite the US government’s determination to increase efficiency standards and become energy independent, hybrid cars sales in the US are falling at a ‘breakneck pace’ – even faster than overall car sales, reports the LA Times:

Last month, only 15,144 hybrids sold nationwide, down almost two-thirds from April, when the segment’s sales peaked and gas averaged $3.57 a gallon. That’s far larger than the drop in industry sales for the period and scarcely a better showing than January, when hybrid sales were at their lowest since early 2005.

In July, U.S. Toyota dealers didn’t have enough Prius models in stock to last two days, and many were charging thousands of dollars above sticker price for the few they had.

Today there are about 80 days’ worth on hand, and dealers are working much harder — even with the help of $500 factory rebates — to move the egg-shaped gas-savers off lots from Santa Monica to Miami.

The gist of the story is even though hybrids are more expensive and therefore less attractive to consumers in these recession-bound times, car makers are compelled by government regulations to continue developing them. Hybrid cars are not particularly profitable for the industry either; Toyota only recently began to turn a profit on its Prius.

Click here to read the entire article.

NYPD grilled for not addressing the “speeding” epidemic in NYC streets

March 18, 2009 at 1:23 pm

(Source:  Streetsblog;  Photo Courtesy: Transportation Alternatives)

speed_gun_1.jpgThere’s a speeding epidemic on New York City streets, but does NYPD know how big the problem is?  The Times recently launched a couple of new blogs devoted to neighborhood coverage, and today the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill outlet, The Local, posted an interesting Q&A with officers at the 88th Precinct. Here’s a revealing answer from Captain Vanessa Kight about traffic enforcement:

Q: Can you please let us know what the 88th is doing to keep the streets safe from criminal drivers? We regularly see drivers flying through our streets (perhaps especially along Washington Park, right along the park, where there is no stop light for two blocks). Running red lights is also common. I live on Clinton between Myrtle/Willoughby and it seems that that block is a continual double-park fest. I’ve lived here since 2000 and cannot recall ever seeing a police officer issuing a traffic violation — I don’t doubt that it happens from time to time, but clearly it doesn’t happen enough to deter dangerous behavior from drivers.

A: We’ve never heard that we don’t give enough summonses. I do have a summons officer and will send him over to Clinton and Willoughby if that’s an issue. But so far this year, we’ve already issued 1,200 violations in the precinct for hazardous driving, including running red lights, speeding, talking on a cell phone and backing up unsafely. That’s in addition to many summonses for less hazardous moving violations. We’ve also issued 2,400 parking violations so far this year.

Citing the number of summonses handed out is typical of how NYPD measures traffic enforcement, and it doesn’t come close to telling the whole story. Consider that nearly 40 percent of New York City motorists were clocked speeding in Transportation Alternatives’ report Terminal Velocity [PDF]. Or that drivers burn through red lights in the city more than a million times every day, according to a 2001 study conducted by the city comptroller [PDF]. It stands to reason that those 1,200 citations issued in the 88th comprise only a very small fraction of all hazardous driving violations committed in the precinct this year.

Click here to read the entire article. 

Late for exams because you can’t find parking? Don’t worry, this University now offers Valet Parking

March 18, 2009 at 12:11 pm

(Source: NPR)

Some universities are concerned that students are late for class because they cannot find parking. The Miami Herald reports Florida International University is testing valet parking at its West Miami-Dade campus. The university has 38,000 students and 14,000 parking spaces. The Miami Hearlad article also points to this new “offer” for students at other institutions:floating car door

Valet parking has caught on in other parts of the country.

Columbia University in New York just inked a contract. The trend began in California. The University of Southern California, a college valet pioneer, now charges $10 for the first two hours.

In South Florida, Zuluaga is hoping his valet service will spread to other local university campuses — opening up a new niche for his industry.

Final exams later this spring will be a good test for the valet parking stand at FIU.

Click here to read more.