Cities were never so polluted before, planet was never so hot, our surroundings were never so unfriendly to the living beings.
Almost every city in the whole world would tell you the same story - but very few of them take practical initiative to make the things better.

Nuremberg is a bright exception - its public transport system has just taken a test drive of a diesel-electric hybrid bus developed by MAN. However the drive-system technology was provided by Siemens.

The Prototype vehicles, also known as City Hybrid low-floor bus is expected to make big contribution toward a greener public transport system in Germany.

MAN - the famous European engine and motor vehicle group has long been engaged in the researches on the technologies for storage and utilization of braking energy, testing hydraulic storage systems, mechanical flywheel storage systems and ultimately the conversion into electric energy and its efficient storage. So far these expensive researches failed to deliver any economically viable solutions - but not any more.

With the new MAN Lion´s City Hybrid low-floor bus, a new chapter has been added to the eco friendly public transport system.

The prototype features a special brake energy recovery system and is reported to use up to 25 percent less fuel than conventional buses. An electric motor initially puts the vehicle in motion. The motor also doubles up as a generator - it helps in converting the kinetic energy into electricity, which can be stored for future use to power the vehicle.

The drive system consists of series-produced components. This will enable MAN to start mass production of the bus by 2010. These diesel electric hybrid buses can be the ideal solution for urban roads, where the vehicles consume more fuels due to constant braking and accelerating.

Generation ‘G’ Gets Its Commuting Solution

The world has realized it at last! Enough damages have been done to our poor Earth and this is high time that we start act now to save our planet.

Let’s make the world a better place to live—-was the unambiguous message of some 150 leading artists from all over the world who performed in the 7th July’s LIVE EARTH concert.

So what could have been the better platform for debuting a motor cycle that has been designed to be “an unintimidating and socially responsible” vehicle? This sleek electric commuter motorcycle called The Enertia from the stable of Brammo’s has made its debutant appearance on MSN’s Autos’ “Green Central” page last Thursday as part of the “Live Earth” promotion

This silent-running, carbon-fiber frame bike is targeted at the ‘Generation G’. This is a generation that can not be defined by the narrow factor of age—-generation ‘G’ relates to the group of people spread across the continents, who “are tired of seeing polar bears swimming and ice caps melting”, who are disturbed by the global warming and who get great pain in watching fossil fuels getting burnt up indiscriminately.

So what makes Enertia a socially responsible vehicle?

* The bike comes packed with the power of 72 volts in its lithium-phosphate batteries.
* As such the energy consumption is far lower than hybrid as well as non-hybrid car.
* The Chief Engineer Aaron Bland of Brammo claimed that Enertia expends just 10 percent of the energy of a standard car and 20 percent of the energy of the best-selling hybrid car.

Let’s see what are the features that make it an unintimidating vehicle.

* The motorcycle comes with a unique design that includes fat wheels and batteries encased between the rider’s legs.
* Thus Enertia has a lower center of gravity than a gas-powered motorcycle—-a feature that makes it easy to handle.
* Then it is also free of the hassles of gears, clutch and shifting.
* The entire operation is controlled by a chain from the motor to the rear wheel.
* As such it becomes ideal two- wheeler for the beginners.

In a nutshell, Enertia —a bike, said to be inspired by Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth,”—–can prove to be a perfect vehicle for three precise reasons:

* It can carry you through the arterials and streets of your crowded city and that is very quickly
* It can help you save considerably on your gas costs
* It ensures a stress free means of conveyance for the daily commuters by helping them bypass the traffic congestion and hassles at the parking lot.
*
If you see reason enough to make it your own commuting solution, you have to bear a months long wait—the first lot of Enertia is going to hit the US market in the early 2008. And the price? The limited-edition models are going to be offered for $14,995 -you know quality does come for a price.

Growing Interest in Streetcars in the USA

Traffic congestion!!  

Pollution!!

Soaring gas prices!!

Welcome to the reality of US urban living. Every sensible soul seems to be screaming, “Oh! Stop this chaos! Give me a break!’’

But where is the solution? While many people have come to see a possible solution to environmental hazards and fast diminishing energy storage–and their number is increasing day by day—in the hybrid cars, it is still the smaller segment of the population that is driving down the roads in expensive Toyota Priuses or Honda Accords.

In order to effectively tackle the environmental pollution caused by the vehicles, we must consider a complete revamp of the public transportation system. And the recent enthusiasm surrounding streetcars in the USA sparks off new hope in the minds of those concerned about the deteriorating environment.

The streetcars are not new phenomena in the USA; but people in the USA seem to suddenly wake up to its potential as the most environment friendly public vehicle only of late. The buzz is in the media too; everywhere you will come across the speculations about a possible comeback of the streetcars in the USA! (Check with USA Today)

You can already find the streetcars rambling through the tracks in San Francisco, Portland, Charlotte and New Orleans.

More and more cities— about three dozen of them- - including the cities like Tucson, Birmingham, Ala., Miami and Trenton are weighing up the pros and cons of investing in such a mode of transport.

Columbus is finally all geared up for its modern streetcar system.

The Minneapolis city’s 2007 budget includes the researches on revival of the streetcars in the city.

All these trends are pointing towards one definite trend: a resurrection of Streetcar system across the USA. And there is no reason why it should not be welcomed by the greater section of the population. Let’s just check its benefits:

• A passenger carrying capacity of a streetcar is lot higher than that of ordinary buses.
• The usage of fuel per passenger per mile is also lot lesser than any other means of public transport.
• Streetcar tracks can be installed sans expensive infrastructures like that is needed in building subways. As Shelley Poticha, the President and CEO of Reconnecting America likes to put it, “It can be built quickly, inexpensively, right into the street to get around without a car more easily.”
• Most important of all, they provide a pollution free means of transport as the electric streetcars offer you carbon free transit.

While a section of people worry over the possible tax hike following streetcar projects, the business community displays a generally upbeat response; in fact the projects are expected to fetch good amount of investment from the developers who see a possible tourist influx in the areas due to the appearance of the streetcars.

Different people have different reasons to rejoice over the revival of streetcars in the USA. As of us, thumbs up for those Mayors who are taking firm steps for reintroducing this pollution friendly transport system in their cities.