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Highlights
Goals & Measures
More Information
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Transportation Innovations
Boston Metro Innovations
  |  | | | Contact Information | Zipcar
25 First Street, 4th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02141
(617) 995-4222
info@zipcar.com |
| | Innovation | | Providing a convenient alternative to car ownership by using technology to enable car sharing. | | | Description | Zipcar is a membership-based program providing convenient access to on-demand automobile transportation. Founded in Boston in 1999, it is fast becoming a national brand. Zipcars are available at designated parking areas at numerous locations near transit lines and in urban centers. All cars are connected to an intelligent wireless network that knows the vehicle's exact location and intended driver. Reservations are made over the Internet, automatically matching the driver to the nearest car. Cars can be rented by the hour or the day. Members carry "Zipcards," which allow them to access the cars they have reserved—from family vans to small hybrids—depending on changing needs. Highlights:
* Studies show that each Zipcar replaces 7-10 privately-owned vehicles, and 40% of members decide not to purchase a car or sell their car
* Individual car usage is reduced by as much as 50%
* Members often use other means of transport: walking, biking, public transportation, or taxi
* Members report that their savings often exceed $5,000 per year
* Zipcars are fuel efficient and have stringent pollution controls
* Greenspace is preserved as fewer parking spaces are required |
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| | Title above image goes here using Innovations Smart Form.... | |
 | | | Contact Information | Smart Cities Group
The Media Laboratory
Building E15
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 |
| | Innovation | | Part sporty convertible, part shopping cart--the Concept Car, proposed by the MIT Smart Cities Project, is creating a new view vision for the future of personal urban transport. | | | Description | | As part of the Smart Cities Project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), researchers propose a stackable, foldable Concept Car designed to revolutionize urban transportation networks and improve transportation efficiency. The two-passenger car--still on the drawing board--can be stacked at key points of convergence throughout a city, near subway and bus lines, for example, allowing commuters the flexibility to combine public transportation with personal mobility. The electronically charged cars would be similar to luggage carts at an airport and to innovative bicycle sharing programs common in European cities. Users simply occupy the first car in the stack, and return it to any other stack throughout the city. Designed not as a substitute for but complement to personal vehicles and other forms of transport, the Concept Car will, it is hoped by its MIT innovators, promote a more "socially responsible and effective means of urban transport." |
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| | Where Carpooling Meets Networking | |
| | Innovation | | Using the power of the Internet and social networking, the founder of Zipcar -- Robin Chase -- is doing for carpooling what she did for car sharing. | | | Description | GoLoco, a new online ride-share community takes car pooling to a new level. Created by Robin Chase--the founder of Zipcar--GoLoco not only allows members to arrange rides quickly between friends, neighbors, colleagues, and third parties but seamlessly facilitates online payments from passengers to drivers. Online transactions make all transfers efficient and effortless, and help ensure that no financial transactions take place inside the car itself. In addition, GoLoco's in-depth profiles of prospective drivers and passengers improve rideshare security by allowing qualified members to review a fellow riders' personal information. Presented as a community, rather than a product, GoLoco also encourages social networking between like-minded carpoolers looking for convenience, friendship, networking, and a chance to reduce their carbon footprint. |
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National/International Innovations
| | The Nation's First Hydrogen Highway | |
 | | | Contact Information | California Environmental Protection Agency
P.O. Box 2815
Sacramento, CA 95812-2815
(916) 551-1313 |
| | Innovation | | The nation's first hydrogen highway network provides clean hydrogen fuel to California drivers. | | | Description | The goal of the California Hydrogen Highway Network initiative is to support and catalyze the rapid transition to a clean, hydrogen transportation economy in California, reduce dependence on foreign oil and protect citizens from health risks related to vehicle emissions. The "Vision 2010" for California's Hydrogen Highways sets the goal that by the end of the decade, every Californian will have access to hydrogen fuel along the state's major highways, with a significant and increasing percentage produced from clean, renewable sources. By 2010, the network will have 170 hydrogen filling stations—one every 20 miles along freeway corridors. Highlights include:
* 15 filling stations in operation, with 9 more planned
* 55 fuel cell vehicles on California roads and highways
* 2 fuel cell bus tests
* Outreach events that have carried 12,000 test drivers |
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|  | | | Contact Information | Colorado Railcar Manufacturing, LLC
1011 14th Street
Ft. Lupton, CO 80621
(303) 857-1066 |
| | Innovation | | Self-propelled and fuel-efficient commuter rail cars create cleaner and more flexible rail options. | | | Description | As planners in many cities considering how to upgrade parts of their commuter rail networks to provide greater service frequency, neighborhoods traversed by rail lines are concerned about increased emissions from locomotives. One solution is Colorado Railcar's DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit), a self-propelled commuter rail car designed to be more fuel efficient and less polluting than conventional commuter rail systems. DMUs can be operated as one-car trains (either single level or double deck) or can pull up to two additional coach cars. Because of their fuel efficiency, DMUs can save commuter rail systems as much as 28% on variable operating costs. Highlights:
* Achieved full Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) compliance
* Savings in operating expenses and dramatic fuel-cost reductions
* Clean, quiet, and efficient |
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| | More Sustainable Air Travel | |
 | | | Contact Information | VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS
North America Headquarters Office
747 Belden Avenue, Norwalk CT 06850 |
| | Innovation | | By addressing wasteful practices, such as tarmac idling, Virgin Atlantic is hoping to significantly reduce fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions throughout the air travel industry. | | | Description | | In a radical move toward improving air travel sustainability, Virgin Atlantic, a leading British airline, is aiming to reduce fuel consumption. At the heart of the changes are two innovations in "aircraft movements." The introduction of aircraft "starting grids"--holding areas closer to the runway than traditional gates--will reduce the amount of time an aircraft needs to run its engine before take off. Rather than taxiing to the runway, planes will be towed to the starting gates, reducing the amount of wasted fuel. While in the air, Virgin Atlantic planes are beginning to use the so-called "Continuous Descent Approach," a landing maneuver that begins an airplane's descent from a higher altitude than normal, allowing the aircraft to descend at a more efficient speed and to reduce fuel burn. In addition, Virgin Atlantic is reducing the overall weight of its air fleet by using lighter paint, lighter on-board fittings, and non-metal cargo bins. |
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| | London's Congestion Pricing - Their Cup of Tea | |
 | | | Contact Information | Greater London Authority
City Hall
The Queen's Walk
More London
London SE1 2AA
Telephone: 020 7983 4100 |
| | Innovation | | This stick is worth a thousand carrots. London has shown how congestion pricing can have enormous positive impacts for urban transportation. | | | Description | | In a bid to reduce street congestion and improve the use of public transportation in urban areas, London introduced "congestion pricing" in 2003. Congestion pricing is a form of Pigovian tax—a fee designed to correct negative market externalities associated with economic transactions. Although cities are also experimenting with positive enforcement mechanisms to reduce urban congestion and air pollution such as bicycle-friendly streets, "congestion pricing" is a seldom used "stick." During the first year of London's program, which charges a $16 daily fee for access to certain "congestion" zones, the number of private cars entering the downtown area dropped by 34% while the number of buses increased by 22% and the number of bicycles increased by 28% The efficient and effective system, which requires payment at retail centers or on the Internet rather than toll booths,is supported by video cameras with character-recognition software. These cameras help levy fines of up to $150 on cars that have not paid the daily fee. The system has been so successful that mayors of other major metropolises, including New York's MichaelBloomberg, are considering similar congestion-pricing policies. |
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| | Innovation | | Turning diesel into one of the world's cleanest fuels, Honda is leading the way in giving new life to a highly efficient, but traditionally dirty, solution for auto and truck transport. | | | Description | | In October 2006 low-sulfur diesel fuel hit the market, promising to drastically reduce the amount of harmful pollutants emitted from stereotypically "dirty" diesel engines. The new diesel fuel has just 3% of the sulfur content of traditional diesel and is expected to reduce emissions from diesel engines while simultaneously taking advantage of diesel's superior fuel efficiency and economy. In addition, automobile manufacturers are responding to concerns about diesel emissions with new diesel-engine designs that lower the amount of gas released during combustion. Honda, a leading manufacturer of fuel -efficient automobiles, preceded the launch of the new diesel fuel with its own upgraded diesel engine which meets even California's emission standards--the world's most stringent. |
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| | Biobutanol - Green Fuel with a Bite | |
| | Innovation | | In a move that promises to catapult widespread adaptation of biofuels - two giants of the chemical and energy industries have partnered to create and market a new sustainably generated fuel - biobutanol - that has performance properties much closer to gasoline than alternative biofuels (such as ethanol), and that works with current engines and distribution networks. | | | Description | | The recent drive to reduce the use of oil in the world economy has created a buzz about the possibilities of various biofuels--fuels derived from the biomass of once living organisms—such as ethanol. Two corporate heavyweights—BP and DuPont, however, are looking to commercialize the production of a biofuel similar to ethanol, but with important advantages. Biobutanol, which is produced in the same manner as ethanol but which utilizes a different enzyme, is both more fuel efficient and more convenient to transport. Corn-based ethanol—the kind produced in the US—is only 70% as efficient as gasoline, while biobutanol is almost identical in its efficiency. And since biobutanol doesn't absorb water as quickly as ethanol, it can be added to gasoline at a refinery and shipped in the same pipeline rather than having to be mixed near a filling station. The two companies hope to start selling the product commercially by the end of 2007, and anticipate that biofuels will soon make up as much as 30% of the world's transport fuel. |
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| | Like a Plane - but Without Wings or Engine | |
 | | | Contact Information | Transrapid International GmbH & Co. KG
Pascalstrasse 10 F
D-10587 Berlin, Germany |
| | Innovation | | The world's first magnetic levitation train offers new possibilities for clean, fast and efficient transport. | | | Description | Shanghai took the first leap towards the future of ground transport by constructing the world's first magnetic levitation (Maglev) train. Reaching speeds of up to 430 kilometers per hour (260 mph), the Maglev is the world's fastest form of public ground transport. The futuristic train rushes commuters between the airport and downtown Shanghai. The 20-mile trip takes less than 8 minutes. Magnetic levitation transport has several benefits in addition to speed. The lack of wheels or onboard engines make the trip quiet, energy efficient, and pollution-free. Highlights:
* 8 million passengers had traveled on Transrapid in Shanghai by October, 2006
* Magnets lift the train 10 millimeters above the track
* China is planning a 125-mile line between Shanghai and Hangzhou
* Germany's first maglev train to the Munich Airport is expected to start service in 2010
* Several Maglev routes have been proposed and are being studied for the USA |
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| | Better Economics, Better Environment | |
 | | | Contact Information | RailPower Hybrid Technologies Corp.
2021 Peninsula Drive
Erie, Pennsylvania
USA 16506-2980
(814)835-2212 |
| | Innovation | | A battery-powered hybrid switching locomotive that is environmentally friendly, clean, quiet and more economical to operate and maintain than traditional diesel-electric switching locomotives. | | | Description | | RailPower Technologies has designed and patented the technology for hybrid-powered switching locomotives known as the Green Goat (GG) Series. Switching locomotives are used in rail yards where trains are assembled and rail cars moved from one track to another. The GG Series locomotives are constructed by remanufacturing conventional diesel-electric switching locomotives. The large diesel-engine is replaced with two sources of power, namely, a small diesel generator combined with a large bank of recyclable, long-life, lead-acid batteries. The revamped switching locomotives achieve fuel savings on the order of 40-70% while reducing smog-producing oxides of nitrogen ("NOx") and particulates by 80-90% compared to conventional counterparts. In addition, the GG Series locomotives are quieter, less costly to maintain, and perform more efficiently than conventional switching locomotives. The] locomotives have modern accessories including GPS and remote control capabilities. |
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