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Category: transportation – Page 56

A “flying car” took to the air in Tokyo for the first time on Friday during an international event showcasing cutting-edge technology.

About 500 spectators applauded as the vehicle hovered around 10 meters off the ground in a parking lot outside the Tokyo Big Sight convention center in the capital’s Koto Ward for SusHi Tech Tokyo 2024.

Flying vehicles are expected to become part of the next generation of human transportation and will be effective in dealing with traffic congestion and delivering supplies to disaster areas, the Tokyo metropolitan government and other organizers said.

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Country folk tend to like the independence offered by their cars, so how do you get them to use public transit? The Monocab system may be the answer, as it utilizes individual on-demand pods that travel on existing abandoned railways.

It’s a bit of a vicious circle. Many people in rural areas prefer using their cars for getting to and from urban centers whenever they want, as opposed to waiting for the few buses or trains. This lack of interest in public transit results in even fewer buses and trains being offered, leading to even less uptake by the locals.

As a result, in countries such as Germany, many rural commuter railways are now largely unused. What’s more, because not everyone wants to wait for public transit or make a long drive, an increasing number of people are choosing to live in cities instead of the countryside.

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An Oakland, California, school district is the first in the US to transition to a 100% electric school bus system with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology.

Modern student transportation platform Zum has provided Oakland Unified School District with a fleet of 74 electric school buses and bidirectional chargers. Utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) supplied 2.7 megawatts (MW) of load to Zum’s Oakland EV-ready facility. The fleet will be managed through Zum’s AI-enabled technology platform.

“Oakland becoming the first in the nation to have a 100% electric school bus fleet is a huge win for the Oakland community and the nation as a whole,” said Kim Raney, executive director of transportation at Oakland Unified School District. “The families of Oakland are disproportionately disadvantaged and affected by high rates of asthma and exposure to air pollution from diesel fuels.”

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BYD officially launched its new Sea Lion 7, a mid-size smart electric SUV poised to rival Tesla’s top-selling Model Y. Starting at 189,800 yuan ($26,250), the BYD Sea Lion 7 is the first EV based on its new e-Platform 3.0 Evo.

After unveiling the Sea Lion 07 at the Guangzhou Auto Show in November, BYD officially launched the new electric SUV last week.

BYD said it was its first “medium-sized urban smart electric SUV.” It’s also the first EV based on BYD’s new e-Platform 3.0 Evo. The new EV platform is an upgrade from the e-Platform 3.0 with improved charging and powertrain capability.

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Toyota is aiming to start producing electric vehicle (EV) batteries next year at its upcoming factory in North Carolina, set to eventually build battery packs for the company’s hybrids, plugin hybrids and EVs.

After increasing its investment into the plant to $13.9 billion total last year, Toyota has continued to make progress on construction at the site since it broke ground in the latter part of 2022.

Toyota chairman predicts EVs will only reach 30 percent market share

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