Folding bikes and cars offer solutions to urban transportation problems
June 15, 2012
i Pedalec (credit: BMW)
BMW has come up with an innovative two-wheeler, the BMW i Pedelec (Pedal Electric Cycle) Concept, designed mainly for urban areas, BMW Blog reports.
It’s a compact bicycle fitted with an electric motor that tops up the rider’s muscle power with an extra dose of torque.
It has a range of 25 to 40 kilometers (16 to 25 miles). Under braking and when riding downhill, the hub motor acts as a generator and supplies the battery with energy. It takes just four hours — or 1.5 hours on a quick charge — for the empty battery to be fully recharged from a domestic plug socket.
Folding cars
The Hiriko Fold has been designed to take commuters to and from public transport, meaning they can leave their polluting cars at home (Credit: Hiriko)
Another option is the folding electric vehicle (Micro-EV), which could enable cities to solve a long-standing mass-transit problem: how do you get commuters who don’t live or work within walking distance of a transit station to take public transport?
The Hiriko Driving Mobility Group has launched an effort to develop a prototype of the Hiriko Fold, partnered with the MIT Media Lab and the Spanish government, accorind . The Fold is scheduled to go on sale in 2013 for around US$16,400, according to BBC Future.
By deploying fleets of lightweight, folding electric cars at strategically distributed electrical charging/renting stations throughout a city and its suburbs, these vehicles could help ease traffic congestion, parking problems, and might even keep the urban air cleaner as well.
Comments (6)
by Marcos Marin
Get a descent design on that bike and I MAY CONSIDER getting one.
by Christian Gehman
the new BMW Pedalec – I want one! Can I be a tester please?
by GatorALLin
….just to confirm…. employees with electric cars get free plug in during work ours and park in the back of the store, so as not to take up retail parking “green vip spots” with free plug in also…..
by GatorALLin
so my gut says that if you really wanted smaller electric cars to do well in the USA you would need to offer them something special. My thought is there needs to be special green parking-spaces (just like blue ones for handicap parking now). Green spaces would also have FREE plug in charges and thus provide VIP parking at the front of every store. Government would need to help promote this with tax savings given to large retailers like walmart for having 25% or higher percentage of workers also drive electric cars. Tax breaks end up paying for costs of providing “free” plug in for these electric car spots…thus further attracting shoppers who you want to invite free to your store/parking lot. Maybe you give 10% of free elect. for every dollar you spend… maybe just free as long as you are shopping…? Anyhow basic idea is that ever business is pushed to get employees to drive to work using elect cars vs. gas power. when any business gets 25% or more of total employees in this program, then business gets tax savings. Business with retail parking then adds Green spots with free plug in. As business grows to push more employees to drive to work with elect vs. gas then they also get higher tax savings…. win/iwin/win All gas drivers see Green vip spots, so encourages buyers of new cars to consider buying elect cars just for vip convenience and free elect while you shop. Imagine if all retailers did this… would be fun to have elect car you drove for free…. (free plug in at work, free at retail shops) and vip status for great up front parking spots. I think this would catch on fast…. suddenly mini elect. cars would be a bigger status symbol and greater investment due to one time purchase and then miles could be all free. I offer free plug in now at work for any elect. cars for employees, but we have no retail spots to offer free plug in for customers. 8 hour plug in for free at work = total use of electric for to-work to-home = free. Longer trips not covered, but like we use free wifi at starbucks, you could bounce to free plug in spots on trips to drive for free or plug in at night to recharge if longer distances stored in battery. Just saying… free has power. What if your state added a Green Parking spot tax saving program to push electric car use…..?? I think this would be cool and actually work!
by Bri
Just one problem with all those incentives. They would work! What the powers that be want, is to drill more oil wells. Hey, we’ve got a lot of oil in those ” purple mountain majesties”. Gush limbo say’s we’ve got plenty of oil. Who needs to be green? Anyway, I can’t imagine an American not having at least two feet of steel between them and all those dangers, if they don’t pay attention. They want something more like there living room couch. Give them a GPS to stop them from paying attention to where they are, a cell phone to text with, so they’re more distracted, maybe a TV, so they’re not out of their comfort zone. This is too European! I live near New York. You have no idea, how much backlash Bloomberg receives for the bike lanes. What? We’ve got to watch out for bikes now? Fugetaboutit! Eh!
by Christian Gehman
Tax credits, tax credits, tax credits! And performance! We don’t want crawlers….