transportation
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The biggest, baddest bikeshare system in the world: Hangzhou, China [VIDEO]
A couple of weeks ago, I rode the Capital Bikeshare system in Washington, D.C., and I was some impressed. With 1,100 bikes, it’s currently the biggest in the nation, and it makes getting around Washington much easier than it has ever been before. But the bikeshare in Hangzhou, China, a city of 6.77 million, blows […]
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Rejecting high-speed rail is not a good political move
Hey, it turns out people don't want to get divorced and die because of long car commutes! Actually, we're just guessing about that (makes sense, though, right?), but what's clear is that constituents won't thank you for nixing rail projects. Gas 2.0 checked in with the biggest rail refusenik governors, and they're all faltering in […]
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Washington’s bikeshare is a capital idea
Capital Bikeshare gives you access to 1,100 bicycles around the city.Photo: DDOT DCDo you know what it means to be “dockblocked”? (Don’t worry, that’s a “D,” not a “C,” fellas.) If the answer is yes, you are probably a regular user of the Capital Bikeshare system in Washington, D.C. Dockblocked is what you call it […]
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Texas erases $4 billion from education budget, spends it on a giant highway expansion
What does the world need most, in this age of high gas prices and rampant carbon emissions? A 28-mile expansion of highway between Dallas and Denton, Texas! At least, that’s what Texas thinks. Thankfully, the state has freed up just enough money for this crucial project by gutting its education budget. Hey, whatever — Texas' […]
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Monorails suddenly a thing again
Futuristic as they look, monorails never really got a toehold outside of airports, Disney World, and I Can Haz Cheezburger. Now elevated single-track trains might be getting a second chance to become the transportation of the future. Part of the problem with monorails is that they’re slow, and part of it is that they’re really […]
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Get ready for solar airplanes
There’s nothing that exciting about a plane that uses no fuel and emits no CO2 — I’ve been folding those since the fourth grade. A plane that uses no fuel, emits no CO2, has the same wingspan as an Airbus A340, and can transport people on international flights, though: That’s a big deal. And that’s […]
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Turning over the new Leaf
How do the Leaf’s emissions stack up?Finally. If you don’t like being dependent on oil — but find that you do need to drive — you’ve got at least one decent option. The Nissan Leaf is the first mass-produced, mass-market electric vehicle to hit the U.S. sales floors in … well, essentially forever. (Yeah, I […]
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Will gas prices turn America into Europe?
If you thought driving sporty little fuel-efficient vehicles and living a reasonable distance from work was strictly an affectation of Continentals who kiss their ladies down there, we've got news for you: Turns out these behaviors can be induced in any population, whatever the likelihood that its colors will run, simply by increasing the cost […]
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Not just better for bikes: New York completes its streets [VIDEO]
Something has been lost in the recent kerfuffle over bike lanes in New York City. The rethinking and redesign of the city’s streets is not just about bikes (and it is not a terrorist plot). It’s about what is known in the land of urban wonkery as “complete streets,” and it is a concept that […]