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Transport

Autonomous vehicles must be well-integrated into public transport systems if they are to take off in Europe's cities, say researchers. Image credit - Keolis
transport
25 February 2020

Driverless shuttles: what are we waiting for?

In the zero-carbon cities of the future, commuting to work may take the form of hailing a driverless shuttle through an app which ferries you from your door to the nearest public transport terminal. In fact, autonomous shuttles have been in development in restricted areas for the past few years. So what will it take to make them part of our daily commute? 

Delivering online purchases to people’s homes and offices is a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions. Image credit -Piqsels, licenced under CC0 1.0
transport | environment
17 February 2020

The carbon cost of home delivery and how to avoid it

Delivering online shopping to people’s homes is a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly when deliveries fail and the journey needs to be repeated. Researchers are now re-thinking home deliveries to see if there is a better way of doing things, with ideas including robot couriers, jointly owned parcel lockers and an ‘Uber’ for parcels.

Urban goods deliveries add to traffic congestion, noise and pollution. Image credit - Andrew Kambel/ Unsplash
transport | environment
10 February 2020

Electric bikes and silent trucks to green goods deliveries

Across Europe’s cities, the demand for delivery services is increasing. But these deliveries affect urban life as they add to traffic congestion, noise and pollution and many cities are now trying out alternative modes of transport that could help.

Cities need to set the rules of the game when it comes to innovative mobility services such as e-scooters and shared bikes, says Karen Vancluysen. Image credit - Polis network
interview | transport
03 February 2020

Q&A: ‘Cities need to roll out carrots and sticks to solve the last-mile problem’

How people and deliveries get to their final destination is currently making urban environments harder places to live, and cities need to solve this ‘last mile problem’ by using a combination of ‘carrot and stick’ measures, according to Karen Vancluysen, secretary general of Polis, a network of European cities and regions working on sustainable innovative transport solutions.

Almost half of fatal plane accidents happen between final approach and landing. Image credit - Pixabay/ windhaven1077, licensed under Pixabay license
transport
17 October 2019

Few aeroplanes land automatically but new systems could make this the norm

When it comes to planes cruising through the air, many of us are used to the idea of them flying on autopilot with little or no input from a human pilot as they travel from one destination to another. Landing a plane under autopilot, known as autoland, is a different matter. While some systems already exist, efforts are underway to improve them to enable safer landings.

Magnus Quaade Oddershede says his wing tip design could reduce the climate impact of aviation. Image credit - EUCYS/ European Commission
environment | transport | policy
17 September 2019

Wing tip device for cleaner aviation wins 2019 EU young scientist prize

An alternative aeroplane wing tip dubbed ‘new raked’ that would make flying more fuel efficient has been awarded one of four €7,000 first prizes at this year’s European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS).

Clean combustion expert Dr Chong Cheng Tung says that waste cooking oil and biomass are the most promising sources for green jet fuel. Image credit - Dr Chong Cheng Tung
interview | transport | environment | open to the world
13 June 2019

Aeroplanes could cut emissions by flying on waste cooking oil fuel

Blending biofuels and kerosene to create greener jet fuel has shown promising results in test flights, but more work needs to be done to ensure biofuels burn cleanly and can be produced in a large-scale, low-cost way, says Dr Chong Cheng Tung, associate professor at the China-UK Low Carbon College of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.

Dr Bonnefon says that governments and regulators, rather than engineers, should make the moral decisions surrounding self-driving cars. Image Credit - JF Bonnefon
interview | transport
02 April 2019

‘Trusting self-driving cars is going to be a big step for people’

Self-driving cars are set to bring one of the biggest changes to our global transportation system in decades, but their potential to increase road safety should not be over-emphasised if we want to increase people’s trust in automated vehicles, says Dr Jean-François Bonnefon from the Toulouse School of Economics, France, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US. He is a behavioural scientist who studies the ethics of self-driving cars and is speaking at the European Conference on Connected and Automated Driving (EUCAD) in Brussels, Belgium, which runs from 2-3 April 2019.

Automated, networked truck convoys could save fuel and cut down on driving time. Image credit - MAN Truck & Bus
transport
28 March 2019

A ‘cookbook’ for vehicle manufacturers: Getting automated parts to talk to each other

Semi-autonomous cars are expected to hit the roads in Europe next year with truck convoys following a few years later. But before different brands can share the roads, vehicle manufacturers need to agree on standards for automated functions.

Road layouts, signs and signals need to be adjusted so that automated robotic drivers can properly navigate bottlenecks and roadworks. Image credit - Pixabay/0532-2008, licensed under pixabay license
transport
07 March 2019

Road upgrades to help humans drive alongside automated cars

As new self-driving vehicles appear on the streets, the traffic clogging our cities and highways could get a lot worse unless the roads themselves become smarter.

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