Category Archives: Transport

Rome – a Smart City starting to get into a Twizzy

It’s been a while since I produced an automotive related post but a recent trip to Rome has reminded me just how ripe things are for a revolution.

smart_romeThe people of Rome don’t do cycling. In fact, seeing someone riding the streets on a bicycle of any pedalled variety is a rarity. What they do love however is small cars and scooters.

The country that gave us iconic cars like the Fiat 500 and the Vespa and Lambretta scooter brands has clearly embraced other small four, three and two wheeled vehicles, most notably Smart cars.

Rome must be the Smart car capital of the world and it is easy to see why the narrow cobbled streets and lack of large open parking areas or multi-story car parks have led to such an uptake of compact two seated vehicles that up half the space of the average family car. Continue reading →

Sustainable transport initiatives – 'must go faster'

A few months into the Department for Transport funded project I have been working on over the last year or so I met with a senior business figure from the Solent region who has worked for some big companies on the UK south coast.

When I explained what the Hampshire councils were doing to encourage transport related behaviour change and achieve a targeted shift away from car usage within the next three years he was surprisingly skeptical and believed the campaigns would go the way of previous such efforts and focus far too much on cycling as the main answer to the issues.

Now that I have an insight into what’s happening in Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) projects around the UK, one thing has become very clear. A lot of taxpayer’s money is being pumped into these initiatives with an emphasis on them being measurable and ultimately self-sustaining but, as far as I have seen so far, there are no real big or radical ideas being implemented now or in the foreseeable future and I’m really not convinced the activities will make much difference in the larger scheme of things.

Am I surprised? Not really. Does it matter? I think it does. Any answers? I can think of a few …

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12.12.12 – The First Twelve Months of Webwiser

Well, this is (almost) the last time in my life that there will be any more interesting date combinations – with perhaps the exception of 02.02.2020 and 30.03.30 – but none so good as 11.11.11, 10.11.12 and 12.12.12. (oops – forgot 11.12.13 when I first wrote this)

So here, at 12:12:12 on 12.12.12 is a quick summary of the first 12 months of Webwiser, the venture I launched on 11.11.11 … (with apologies to the Twelve days of Christmas)

In the first month of Webwiser, the venture gave to me – some domain names for a small fee – www.webwiser.co.uk and www.webwiser.tv

In the second month of Webwiser, the venture gave to me – a business plan and something to talk about at the Christmas party

In the third month of Webwiser, the venture gave to me – sleepless nights and increasing anxiety

In the fourth month of Webwiser, the venture gave to me – some glimmers of hope and some excellent opportunities

In the fifth month of Webwiser, the venture gave to me – my first big contract and a real chance to make a difference to society

In the sixth month of Webwiser, the venture gave to me – a busy schedule and many meetings around Hampshire county

In the seventh month of Webwiser, the venture gave to me – two more clients and not much time to even take a pee

In the eighth month of Webwiser, the venture gave to me – a big new site launch and even bigger development plan to oversee

In the ninth month of Webwiser, the venture gave to me – another client and a return to web development for B2B

In the tenth month of Webwiser, the venture gave to me – some very varied weeks and a well needed break by the sea

In the eleventh month of Webwiser, the venture gave to me – a limited company incorporation number and a fellow director called Debbie

In the twelth month of Webwiser, the venture gave to me – a chance to rework the website and set a course for 2020!

Could playing 'games' help safeguard our planet?

via cycling.com

The success of the London 2012 Olympics shows that our enthusiasm for ‘The Games’ has not waned since our earliest civilisations battled to become Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger).

As the sun sets on the Games of the XXX Olympiad and we head off to XXXI in Rio, the next 4 years have been deemed crucial by some organisations for addressing potentially one of the biggest issues facing our planet – global warming.

We are just 2 short months from the onehundredmonths.org half way point and the remaining 50 months will take us up to the next ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ in Rio 2016.

London 2012 has been described as the ‘greenest games ever’ and this article debates quite nicely just how true this is. Regardless of the efforts that have gone into building the venues from recycled materials and creating new wildlife habitats, the article points out that …
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WoW ! It's the Web on Wheels

I wrote recently about my delight at finding a new monthly car magazine that focuses on efficiency and sustainability while still pressing hot buttons of style and performance. The second edition of iCar has several articles on ‘in-car Internet’ and the different ways it is currently possible to access the Web on wheels.

You could say that the Web passed its driving test a few years ago with the arrival of high bandwidth mobile access. However, now that smartphone ownership is starting to pass the 50% mark in some countries, access and use of the Mobile Web is growing exponentially and ‘in-vehicle’ capabilities are improving steadily in competency and sophistication. The major challenge remains the speed with which smartphone technology is changing and the comparative slow development lifecycles of automotive technologies, restricted as they are by a myriad of safety legislation and complex supply chains.    Continue reading →