FT "Singapore Cyclist" posts 100 videos of car drivers who pissed him off on Sg roads

[Leongsam]

Re: FT "Singapore Cyclist" posts 100 videos of car drivers who pissed him off on Sg r

Govt pumps $330m into NZ cycleways

5:52 PM Thursday Jun 25, 2015

File photo / Bay of Plenty Times


A third of a billion dollars will be pumped into cycleways in cities and towns across New Zealand, the Transport Minister says.

Simon Bridges said today 41 cycleways will get funding in what he called the "biggest investment in cycling" in the country's history.

Local government authorities are chipping in, adding to cash from the Urban Cycleways Fund and the National Land Transport Fund.

From those three cities, Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington would between them receive cycleway funding of $208.72 million.

Outside the three largest cities, Bridges' hometown Tauranga would receive the biggest bonus, at $14.61m.

Palmerston North, Napier-Hastings and Dunedin would be the next biggest beneficiaries of money for accelerated projects.

Mr Bridges' ministry today explained $296.54m of new spending on "accelerated" cycleway projects.

The New Zealand Transport Agency said the new investment across 41 projects added to earlier spending on cycleways and was good news.

"Getting more New Zealanders cycling will relieve congestion during peak travel times, connect people with a greater range of employment, education and social opportunities and contribute to a more environmentally sustainable future for our transport network," the agency's chief executive Geoff Dangerfield said.

The agency said the total investment in cycling in New Zealand over the next three years was expected to be from $380m to $400m, delivering over 250km of new urban cycleways.

"The projects announced today will draw on the $90m remaining in the Urban Cycleways Fund, as well as $107m from the National Land Transport Fund, and $99m from local government," Mr Bridges said.

He said 13 cycleways were already announced in January and today's announcement built on that.

The biggest single project was in Auckland, where $13.01m would be spent on connections between Eastern suburbs and the city centre.
- NZME.

Copyright ©2015, NZME. Publishing Limited

 

[mojito]

Re: FT "Singapore Cyclist" posts 100 videos of car drivers who pissed him off on Sg r

Very wasteful federal spending. The money is better used to ensure we get the top talents around to fixing the menace caused by errant cyclists. LKY would have done the right thing by introducing tough measures and keep them off the roads. I would have laid pebbles on major roads to discourage cyclists from hogging the leftmost lanes.

 

[Leongsam]

Re: FT "Singapore Cyclist" posts 100 videos of car drivers who pissed him off on Sg r

HOME/NEWS / FORD LOOKS TO TAKE MOBILITY FURTHER THAN JUST CARS

Ford looks to take mobility further than just cars

BY DAMIEN O'CARROLL • 25/06/2015

​

According to Ford CEO Mark Fields, Ford, it would seem, no longer considers itself to be just an automotive company. No, it is also a “mobility company”.

Well, no kidding, you might say, cars are mobility. To which Fields would say you are right, but only partly so, and it is an increasingly diminishing part.

During his keynote speech at the start of the “Further with Ford” future trend event in San Francisco today, Fields expanded on the idea that Ford - and indeed all car manufacturers - could no longer afford to simply think of ways to sell more cars to more people and that the future would involve far more creative and flexible solutions.

“So what do we mean by a mobility company?” Fields said. “That’s a really important question, and simply put its more than just motion. Its more than moving from point A to point B. It’s really about human progress and dates all the way back to our founder Henry Ford.

​

Ford CEO Mark Fields
“His affordable car put the world on wheels. It made physical movement and mobility accessible to everyone and it gave people the opportunity and the ability to pursue new experiences and expand their own economic opportunities.

“Because Henry Ford understood that mobility was really about freedom. The freedom to choose where to live, where to work and where to play. And that freedom of mobility made peoples lives better for millions around the world.”

That is why at the star of this year Ford launched a series of 25 “Smart Mobility” experiments designed to tackle the issues arising from four “mega trends” that will affect the future of transportation.

The rapid expansion of the world’s population, the equally rapid growth of a global middle class, the corresponding health risks due to poor air quality and changing customer attitudes and priorities regarding vehicles and transportation in general.

“What we are seeing is software and connectivity technologies are driving vehicle innovation faster than ever,” said Fields.

“At the same time we have a new generation of customers who use technology to make their lives easier. And that’s where Ford’s Smart Mobility comes in, linking us both as an automotive and a mobility company.”

The Smart Mobility experiments included trials like the Dynamic Shuttle on-demand shared shuttle service in New York and London, where customers could share a shuttle to and from various locations, via a smartphone app and “Info Cycles” where sensors on bicycles were used to collect data on traffic patterns, pedestrians and road conditions.

Another trial used existing vehicle parking technology - such as the self-parking systems and parking sensors in many Ford vehicles - to feed data into the cloud, where it could in turn be interpreted and sent back out to other cars. In other words, every car - whether the driver is looking for a parking spot or not - becomes a “probe” for vacant parking spaces, sharing that information with other cars in the area.

After six months of the experiments, Fields says that Ford has learned “tons and tons” and is now ready to move from experiments into implementing a number of new pilots.

The first pilot is called “GoDrive” an on-demand car sharing service that is being started in London. Ford will place 50 cars in 20 locations around the city, offering one-way rentals and guaranteed parking.

“Customers love guaranteed parking!” enthused Fields. “We also learned a number of lessons about the use of a smartphone app for the service - it needs to be easy to find cars, to find the parking spot and to find pricing.”

Another pilot scheme that will be launched in a number of cities in the USA as well as in London is peer-to-peer car sharing from Ford Credit. The scheme will provide a way for customers to rent their vehicles to others for short term use. Ford is partnering with Get Around in the USA and Easy Car Club in London and the programme will open up to 14,000 customers in 6 cities in the US and 12,000 customers in London.

“Think about this as AirBnB for cars!” said Fields, before going on to describe the final initiative that the company is putting in place - multi-modal urban mobility solutions.

“In many cities driving from home to work simply doesn't work,” said Fields. Because of the expanding population, with more people living in cities, solutions that require several different modes of transport to get places are going to become increasingly common.

“While this (expanding urban population) may be a terrific opportunity for us to sell more vehicles to them, the way we engage with these customers might be different than in the past,” he said.

“Urban solutions to gridlock, parking, and the air quality challenges - it HAS to be multi-modal. And one of those modes is electric bikes - eBikes.”

Ford has unveiled three eBike concepts - the private MoDe:Me, the commercial MoDe:Pro and the lifestyle MoDe:Flex. All the eBikes can be disassembled and easily stored in a car (or a delivery vehicle, in the case of the MoDe:Pro) allowing the driver to park on the outskirts of a city and ride to their final destination.

All the eBikes connect to a smartphone app and Apple Watch app that provides weather and traffic information, “eyes-free” navigation (that uses haptic feedback in the handlebars to indicate a turn to the rider) and a “no sweat” mode that increases the rate of electric pedal assistance depending on the rider heart rate.

“We have made significant progress since starting Smart Mobility six months ago,” said Fields. “And we are shifting from experimentation to implement two strategic areas of focus - flexible use and ownership and multi-modal urban mobility solutions.

“As we enter one of the most transformative periods in our history, we are driving innovation in every part of our business as an automotive company AND as a mobility company, ultimately to make peoples lives better.”

The 2015 “Further with Ford” event continues over the next two days.

 

[Grago]

Re: FT "Singapore Cyclist" posts 100 videos of car drivers who pissed him off on Sg r

Ford should concentrate on making better vehicles. A more fuel efficient or better still a very much reduced Carbon producing vehicles should be looked at and produce rather than branching into another form of transportation....... Leave the other mobility type vehicles to the specialist do their job, fix your own vehicles first!

 

[Leongsam]

Re: FT "Singapore Cyclist" posts 100 videos of car drivers who pissed him off on Sg r

New motorway connections boost cycleways

By Mathew Dearnaley
1:56 PM Monday Jun 29, 2015

Roadworks at Hobson and Nelson St motorway connections create key links in central city cycleway. Photo / Dean Purcell


Two of Auckland's busiest motorway entry and exit points are being upgraded for a major bike route as the Government digs deeper into its $100 million urban cycleways fund.

The Transport Agency is asking drivers joining Spaghetti Junction from Hobson St, or entering the city at Nelson St from the Southern and Southwestern motorways, to watch speeds over the next three weeks as the intersections with Union and Pitt Sts are improved for cycle crossings.

Work is booked from 7pm to 5am from Sunday to early Friday each week - starting last night - to provide safer passage for pedallers joining or leaving a $13.9m cycleway between Upper Queen St and the waterfront.

Contractors will upgrade pedestrian crossings and traffic signals as well as resurfacing pavements to make the main route and a branch bikeway back up Pitt St to Karangahape Rd smoother for cyclists.

Northern highways manager Brett Gliddon expects his motorway ramps and traffic signals to keep operating throughout the project, but says traffic management will differ slightly each night, and wants all road users to watch their speeds "so we can keep our workers and others using the area safe".

Stage one of the project includes a 160m pre-fabricated bike bridge over Spaghetti Junction from just off Upper Queen St to the former Nelson St motorway off-ramp, which was decommissioned 10 years ago.

Cyclists will have to make two road crossings from the city end of the ramp to the western side of Nelson St, which the bikeway will run along to Victoria St by the end of this year.

The second stage will involve developing the branch bikeway to Karangahape Rd and extending the main route to the waterfront by mid-2016, either along the rest of Nelson St or along Hobson St, via Victoria St.

The Government is providing $11.35 million against an Auckland Council share of $2.55m, mainly from the national land transport fund, with just $1.75 million from an earlier dip into the Government urban cycleways coffers.

But members of Auckland Transport and Cycle Action Auckland are delighted with the Government's confirmation last week of a $24.75 million "main course" injection from the cycleways fund towards $88.73 million of joint venture bike paths to be developed around the city over the next three years, among projects throughout the country.

The boost will also provide a 6km cycleway from Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive costing $24.6 million and will fill a long-awaited missing link in the Northwestern Cycleway by extending it up Ian McKinnon Drive to Upper Queen St.

By Mathew Dearnaley
- NZ Herald

Copyright ©2015, NZME. Publishing Limited

 

[eatshitndie]

Re: FT "Singapore Cyclist" posts 100 videos of car drivers who pissed him off on Sg r

Ford should concentrate on making better vehicles. A more fuel efficient or better still a very much reduced Carbon producing vehicles should be looked at and produce rather than branching into another form of transportation....... Leave the other mobility type vehicles to the specialist do their job, fix your own vehicles first!

i'm actually thrilled that ford is branching into the e-bicycle business. it's a new segment that will see americans flocking to the new concept, especially when it's foldable and a rider can carry it on a train or stash it in the rear of an suv.