Transportation continues to generate a large proportion of emissions worldwide, even as emissions from other areas of the economy fall. In the EU, transport accounts for around 30% of CO2 emissions, and…
Trains that use magnets to levitate above the tracks might sound like something from Back to the Future, but the concept of magnetic levitation has been around for many years. Maglev trains, which use…
Electric cars have still not won over the public, and not just because some look like this.
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The electric car trend is still to take off in the UK, with drivers largely put off by up-front costs, according to a survey by the Department for Transport. A measly 5% of respondents were thinking about…
George Osborne’s proposal for a high speed rail line across the north of England makes a lot of sense. It will come far too late to resolve our present economic worries, but better train links are crucial…
Listening to that questionable music is one of the reasons we’re still driving cars.
Rommel Canlas/Shutterstock
Cars are still the favoured mode of transport in Australia, despite their known environmental and health impacts. We know that alternatives exist — walking, riding, and public transport — that can get…
You’re better off catching the bus than the train of you want to reduce your energy footprint.
John Ward/Flickr
How did you get to where you need to be today? Car, bike, public transport, or perhaps walking? Transport is one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, globally and in Australia. The latest…
The east coast main line is to be reprivatised, and the unions aren’t happy. The three rail unions, RMT, Aslef and the TSSA have asked for a judicial review into the process, and have also questioned the…
Several train operators are bidding for a contract to run the main train line between London and Edinburgh, but the only company that has made a success of the line will be excluded. Why? For the past…
Putting old airliners out to pasture early and replacing them would fill fields, but clean the skies.
Benny Davis/USAF
Although aviation emissions contribute only 3-5% of the total impact on the planet’s climate, this is steadily growing and is a surprisingly intractable problem to solve. As prosperity around the world…
Motorcyclists are about to get a green light to “filter” through traffic on New South Wales roads. But what does that mean, for them and others sharing the road? And what are the rules for motorcycles…
Australians are addicted to the political theatre surrounding infrastructure investment.
Tracey Nearmy/AAP
The recent productivity commission report into public infrastructure left the most important policy question unasked, namely: if there were better ways for planning and building transport infrastructure…
The use of rail for freight can save lives.
NSW Govt/AAP
“Without trucks, Australia stops” is now a fact of modern life. But when all costs are considered, road freight is an expensive way of moving large amounts of freight. And, as shown by ongoing fatal crashes…
Spend to save, or just spend when needed?
Ben Birchall/PA
With the collapse of the line at Dawlish in Devon cutting off railway services to Plymouth and the southwest for months, Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin MP and Network Rail chiefs were…
Australia only keeps an estimated 23 days’ worth of fuel in the country.
Bidgee/Wikimedia Commons
It might sound unlikely, but Australia’s fuel gauge is worryingly low. We’re one of the world’s top energy exporters, but our stocks of liquid fuels – such as the oil on which almost the whole transport…
Cars are the second most expensive investment after the family home, a status symbol and, in some cases — just visit a major motor show — a love affair. Yet electric cars seem to polarise: people either…
Now where did I put my bus pass?
Anthony Devlin/PA
Akshat Rathi, The Conversation y Will de Freitas, The Conversation
Londoners will be pleased that the latest tube strike has been called off. But that hasn’t stopped people from speculating as to how much it might have cost the capital’s economy. Last week, newspapers…
Build it, and they will come. Eventually.
Chris Ison/PA
The announcement came at New Year that David Cameron’s cabinet members might be about to trade in their limousines for electric vehicles. Such a move would make the UK government the world’s first to run…
But fare rises are in line with inflation.
London Permaculture
I wonder how many friends I would make among commuters by suggesting last week’s 3% rise in rail fares is at least in part a good news story. Of course, there has been understandable indignation that fares…
Coming down to earth - just like house prices near airports.
Steve Parsons/PA
The interim report of the Davies Airports Commission published this week presents an in-depth analysis of aviation’s value to the UK economy and suggests the country will need a new runway by 2030, and…
Licensing authorities place the onus on drivers to report any medical conditions that might affect their driving.
Image from shutterstock.com
Few states mandate that doctors or other health professionals must report unfit drivers to licensing authorities – and for good reason. Driving is an everyday practice for many Australians, but that doesn’t…