Bit by bit, for the past 40 years, the city of Copenhagen has done something revolutionary: The Danish capital has reduced its parking supply. Cutting the total number of parking spaces by a small percentage each year stands in stark contrast to the more common pattern of cities adding more and more parking to accommodate private cars. Continue reading
To Curb Driving, Cities Cut Down on Car Parking
Posted in Transportation, Urban Planning
Tagged Livable Streets, National Geographic, Parking, Trend
Google Creates $280 Million Fund to Finance Solar Energy
Google is making its largest investment yet in clean energy, setting up a $280 million fund to finance home solar rooftop installations.
The search giant announced it was teaming up with the Silicon Valley’s SolarCity—a company chaired by Paypal co-founder and Tesla Motors executive Elon Musk—in an effort to break down the biggest barrier to solar energy adoption: the cost. Continue reading
Tagged Elon Musk, Google, National Geographic, Solar, SolarCity
Reimagining Auto Retail for Electric Cars
For independent electric car companies, it’s so long, automobile row. Some electric vehicle manufacturers have jettisoned the old model of franchise auto dealerships in an effort to change not only how we drive, but also how we buy cars. Continue reading
Bike-Share Schemes Shift Into High Gear
Around the world, cycle-hire operators are rolling out bicycles that were tucked away for the cold and rainy months. Hundreds of new bikes and docking stations will join existing fleets, while many more cities, from Kailua to Tel Aviv to the Big Apple are joining the bike-sharing wave for the first time. Continue reading
Posted in Collaborative Consumption, Transportation
Tagged Bike Sharing, BIXI, National Geographic, Trend
Driving the Limit: Wealthy Nations Maxed Out on Travel?
Fewer cars are projected be on the road this summer in the United States, partly because of higher gas prices — but the leveling off of road travel in several countries goes beyond yearly fluctuations. Researchers now think the world’s most developed nations might have put the brakes on travel. Or, at least, on personal travel fueled by petroleum.
In the United States, Germany, Japan, and other countries that rank among the world’s wealthiest, there are signs that driving has reached a kind of saturation point, as I’ve reported in this article for National Geographic News.
Posted in Transportation
Tagged Gas Prices, National Geographic, Oil Demand, Peak Travel, Trend
Tesla Prepares for a Gap as Roadster Winds Down
Tesla Motors has spent eight years building a new kind of car company — one with Silicon Valley roots that makes slick electric vehicles and takes its retail cues from Apple rather than from traditional dealerships. As I wrote in this article for The New York Times, Tesla is now undergoing a makeover as it tries to evolve from a niche maker of expensive sports cars that has never turned a profit into a money-making provider of electric cars for the masses and a technology supplier to bigger automakers. Continue reading
Posted in Auto
Tagged Electric cars, Elon Musk, Lotus, New York Times, Tesla Motors
Car Sharing Startups Bask in Zipcar’s I.P.O. Glow
Zipcar, the car-sharing provider, raised $174.3 million in an initial public offering Thursday morning, marking a first for a segment once dominated by nonprofits and local community organizations. In this piece for The New York Times Wheels blog, I report how the strong showing could be a boon for new companies aiming to make money through alternatives to vehicle ownership. Continue reading
Posted in Collaborative Consumption, Transportation
Tagged Car Sharing, Google Ventures, IPO, New York Times, RelayRides, Spride Share, Zipcar
