Public Transport

Transport for London (TfL) is trialling e-ink digital displays to provide passengers with travel information. Maps, timetable and arrival times are shown in real time.

One of the biggest limitations of electric buses is range. Now, though, a US company has eked out over 250 miles (402 km) from one of its electric buses. The Proterra Catalyst XR is said to afford the best efficiency rating ever for a 40-ft (12-m) transit bus, at 22 mpg (12.8 l/l00 km) equivalent.

The electric-powered Lutz Pathfinder pod was presented to the public of Milton Keynes, UK, yesterday. The two-seater is due to be trialed as a means of ferrying members of the public around town, initially under driver control but eventually as a fully autonomous vehicle.

Toyota and Hino Motors have begun testing a jointly-developed fuel cell bus in Tokyo, Japan. The brief test, which is taking place on public roads in the central and waterfront areas of the city, is designed to will help Toyota improve the technology ahead of a possible market launch.

London's public transport is about to get a lot greener, with the world's first all-electric double-decker bus set to hit the city's streets later this year. The announcement was made at the Clean Bus Summit, where 24 cities around the world committed to putting ultra-low emission buses on the road.

Romanian tech firm Onyx Beacon is teaming up with the local authorities in Bucharest to install 500 iBeacon devices on local buses. It's hoped that the new Smart Public Transport (SPT) initiative will make the city more accessible for the estimated 12,000 visually impaired citizens who live there.

If electric buses are ever going to become a common sight, then they'll need to be able to operate like their traditional counterparts. That's why the EDDA Bus consortium is developing electric buses that can grab a quick charge at bus stops in just a few minutes.

Australia's Sydney Trains has adopted a new approach to tackling vandalism, trialling new technology designed to quickly alert staff to offenders by sniffing out spray paint vapor. While only in its infancy, the project, which know as "Mousetrap," has already produced some promising results.

Next month, Gothenburg's public transport will get a little bit greener. The Swedish city will see the introduction of its first fully electric buses. According to Volvo, which makes the vehicles, they use 80 percent less energy than diesel equivalents.

Getting around the streets of any busy city can be slow and frustrating. One concept for making it easier in London, however, would see pedestrians and cyclists moved below the streets. The London Underline concept proposes using the city's disused tunnels used as a network of cycle and footpaths.

Rickshaws are a part of life across much of Asia for tourists and locals alike. Japanese company Terra Motors has developed a new, electric rickshaw it hopes will improve environmental degradation and also save on fuel costs for drivers.

One man's waste is another's man's bus fuel, so the saying might now go. Indeed, next time people in the UK go for a number two, they could be powering the number two bus. Geneco's new Bio-Bus is powered by gas generated via the treatment of sewage and food waste.