smarterplanet: Zipcar Adds Plug-In Prius Hybrids to Its Fleet Source: Fast Company The next generation of electric cars is now available to the car-less—at least, to Zipcar members in Boston, San Francisco, and Portland. The car-sharing service announced this week that eight Toyota Prius plug-in hybrids are now available to those three cities as part of a pilot program that will explore how the technology can work in large-scale car-sharing programs. “Zipcar is an ideal test bed for early consumer acceptance of EVs,” said Scott Griffith, Chairman and CEO of Zipcar, in a statement. “This project will allow companies to receive direct feedback from thousands of consumers in three cities and help evaluate how EVs fit into a large-scale car sharing model.” Toyota’s plug-in Prius, set to be released to showrooms in 2012, can travel on pure electric power up to 62 MPH for approximately 13 miles before shifting into conventional Prius hybrid mode, where it averages 50 MPG. Zipcar is planning on charging its fleet using both conventional 110-volt outlets (a three-hour charge time) and 220-volt chargers (a 90-minute charge time). Customers will be allowed to take the plug-ins out for $7 per hour.

smarterplanet:

Zipcar Adds Plug-In Prius Hybrids to Its Fleet

Source: Fast Company

The next generation of electric cars is now available to the car-less—at least, to Zipcar members in Boston, San Francisco, and Portland.

The car-sharing service announced this week that eight Toyota Prius plug-in hybrids are now available to those three cities as part of a pilot program that will explore how the technology can work in large-scale car-sharing programs.

“Zipcar is an ideal test bed for early consumer acceptance of EVs,” said Scott Griffith, Chairman and CEO of Zipcar, in a statement. “This project will allow companies to receive direct feedback from thousands of consumers in three cities and help evaluate how EVs fit into a large-scale car sharing model.”

Toyota’s plug-in Prius, set to be released to showrooms in 2012, can travel on pure electric power up to 62 MPH for approximately 13 miles before shifting into conventional Prius hybrid mode, where it averages 50 MPG. Zipcar is planning on charging its fleet using both conventional 110-volt outlets (a three-hour charge time) and 220-volt chargers (a 90-minute charge time). Customers will be allowed to take the plug-ins out for $7 per hour.

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Empowered City

I live in the Next American City because I am a part-owner of my community’s integrated infrastructure company. I do not continually pay rent in the form of transmission fees; rather I own the value of my infrastructure with my neighbors. Whats more, we spend less money for utility services than the average because our neighborhood heat network is integrated to resource recovery from wastewater. We also buy and sell electricity in bulk, giving us a better position in the electricity market. In the past few years, we have accumulated funds and will vote on how to reinvest back into the neighborhood (building a community center is our top priority). Now, developers are approaching us to learn how we organized a local infrastructure company that creates value across the triple-bottom line.

Nels Nelson, Boston, USA

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Comparing the Country’s Largest Public Transit Systems - Cities, Rethought - GOOD Taking public transportation is one of the best way to combat congestion in our cities. But to encourage individuals to take mass transit, cities must invest to keep their transportation systems running efficiently and serving citizens’ needs. See how the country’s largest subway and rapid transit systems stack up in terms of how many riders they serve and how well they serve those riders.

Comparing the Country’s Largest Public Transit Systems - Cities, Rethought - GOOD

Taking public transportation is one of the best way to combat congestion in our cities. But to encourage individuals to take mass transit, cities must invest to keep their transportation systems running efficiently and serving citizens’ needs. See how the country’s largest subway and rapid transit systems stack up in terms of how many riders they serve and how well they serve those riders.

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The Urbanophile » Blog Archive » Report from the Rail~Volution I was in Boston last week for part of Rail~Volution 2009, America’s premier transit conference. I was part of a panel on the use of social media for transit advocacy. It’s clear this is a topic a lot of people are trying to figure out. I don’t want to go too far topic, but maybe I’ll do a post on that in the future, since obviously I’ve got a lot of experience in the space. In the meantime, just ponder this: why are almost all influential blogs and web sites in this space run by more or less independent people instead of agencies or organizations?

The Urbanophile » Blog Archive » Report from the Rail~Volution

I was in Boston last week for part of Rail~Volution 2009, America’s premier transit conference. I was part of a panel on the use of social media for transit advocacy. It’s clear this is a topic a lot of people are trying to figure out. I don’t want to go too far topic, but maybe I’ll do a post on that in the future, since obviously I’ve got a lot of experience in the space. In the meantime, just ponder this: why are almost all influential blogs and web sites in this space run by more or less independent people instead of agencies or organizations?

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America's Smartest Cities—From First to Worst - The Daily Beast

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