Transportation

In South Bend, he challenged assumption that streets are for cars above all else – The Washington Post

Pete Buttigieg: In South Bend, he challenged assumption that streets are for cars above all else – The Washington Post

When Pete Buttigieg took office as mayor of the Indiana city in 2012, he changed that. He pitched a $25 million plan to convert downtown’s wide, one-way roads into two-way streets with bike lanes and sidewalks. He hoped making it safer to get out on foot would encourage more people to spend time and money in the area.

A Dream Car May Be Hard To Find : NPR

Auto Production Disrupted By Chip Shortages: A Dream Car May Be Hard To Find : NPR

Automakers around the world, from Japan to Texas, are grappling with a global shortage of computer chips.

Volkswagen sounded the alarm about the growing problem last month. Now more automakers are reporting problems, including a ord plant in Kentucky that shut down temporarily, a Jeep plant in Mexico that extended its holiday shutdown and other factories that are trimming production plans based on their supply of semiconductors.

The History of Greyhound

100 Years on a Dirty Dog: The History of Greyhound

Wickman, it turns out, pretty much invented intercity bus travel—which for most Americans equals Greyhound, the company that emerged from that long-ago Hupmobile ride. “Greyhound has become generic for bus travel,ȁ says Robert Gabrick, author of Going The Greyhound Way. “Like Kleenex for tissues.ȁ Indeed, this classic American business icon—which, as it happens, is now owned by a British conglomerate—today has more than 7,300 employees, with estimated yearly sales of $820 million and 2,000 buses serving 3,800 destinations in 48 U.S. states and nine Canadian provinces. “I’m amazed at Greyhound’s brand recognition,ȁ says ePaul University professor Joseph Schwieterman, an authority on intercity bus travel. “It’s an American success story.ȁ

Governor Cuomo Announces Initiatives to Electrify Transit Buses, Boosting Access to Clean Transportation and Building Healthier Communities | Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

Governor Cuomo Announces Initiatives to Electrify Transit Buses, Boosting Access to Clean Transportation and Building Healthier Communities | Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a series of initiatives to increase the number of electric buses in New York as part of the State's efforts to mitigate climate change, create healthier communities, improve air quality, and boost access to clean transportation in underserved communities. Specifically, this effort includes $16.4 million in incentives for the expansion of electric bus usage amongst public transportation authorities, as well as $2.5 million for school bus operators to acquire cleaner forms of transportation with lower emissions. These measures will help take polluting vehicles out of service across the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality in support of Governor Cuomo's nation-leading clean energy and climate goals in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

"Electrifying transit and school buses at scale is an important step in our fight against climate change and is essential in helping us reach our ambitious goals to create a greener New York State," Governor Cuomo said. "Through these initiatives, bus operators will now have the support and resources they need to modernize their fleets, reduce emissions and ensure underserved communities have cleaner public transit options as we work to further reduce our carbon footprint."

 

NPR

Wheels Come Off For Bus Companies Even As Air Travel Picks Up : NPR

That raises concerns about the long-term health of a sector that generally operates on thinner margins and has less financial cushion.

Pantuso estimates that 85% of the 100,000 people who work in the bus industry have been laid off or furloughed — in most cases since March.

It's not just long-haul services like Greyhound that are limping. Traffic on commuter lines that ordinarily ferry workers to and from the suburbs has also dried up, since many people are working from home.

A Brief History of the Square Steering Wheel | Mac’s Motor City Garage

Reinventing the Wheel: A Brief History of the Square Steering Wheel | Mac’s Motor City Garage

Fairly early in the development of the automobile, pioneer inventors seized upon the steering wheel as an ideal method of controlling a vehicle. (They were borrowing from the marine world, we presume.) But it wasn’t long until creative variations on the theme began to appear—square, rectangular, ovoid shapes. None of them ever caught on, but these unusual forms continue to appear occasionally to this day. Here are just a few examples.

The Chevrolet Bolt Drivetrain Is Incredibly Simple

The Chevrolet Bolt Drivetrain Is Incredibly Simple

The world of battery electric vehicles might seem like black magic. Electricity turns into motion with the help of controllers and inverters. However, as John Kelly from the WeberAuto YouTube channel explains, EV's are sometimes mechanically simple. Well, at least that's the case for the Chevrolet Bolt. Kelly tackles the Bolt EV’s brilliantly simple drivetrain in the latest video for his WeberAuto YouTube channel.

Electric cars are the future just because they will eventually prove much simpler to build and maintain. Gas motors with their cam shafts and transmissions are such a throw back to an earlier era of pre computers. It's so much easier to manipulate a 3 phase sine wave than have a series of gears and cam shafts to manipulate a gas motor.