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We’ve all been there - circling around the block for what seems like eons searching for that oh so elusive parking space. Remarks such as, “I should have left earlier!!” run through your head until the frustration vaporizes atomically into a massive mushroom cloud in your brain. Being in an anger fog of this magnitude produces hazards to you and others while on the road. Dangers such as veering off into a pedestrian crowded crosswalk, or changing lanes haphazardly into traffic. However, to remedy this temperamental meltdown of nuclear proportions, SFMTA is introducing the SF park project. The SF park project will implement new smart parking meters throughout San Francisco to fight crowded parking, make paying easier, and avoid unwanted tickets.
These parking meters differ from the outdated models found in cluttered cities everywhere for a number of reasons. For one, they allow drivers to pay by credit card and SFMTA cards, as well as with good ol’ change. This alone will help cut down on the time spent travelling to your destination.
However, the most impressive feature about Frisco’s new smart parking meter system is a new parking sensors ability to identify how many parking spaces are available in a particular area. By doing this, drivers will be able to use their smartphones and computers to find out beforehand if a space will be available for them. With any luck, this will cut down on the traffic from those driving around battling against formidable foes for an empty parking space (estimated to be a third of city traffic).
What’s more, these new smart meters will be able to adjust themselves to the amount of parking spaces that a specific area generates. This means that if one area seems to be full all of the time the price of parking will go up accordingly. In contrast, places with plentiful spaces will effectively see their rates go down. What this does is help to adjust the flow of parking, and keep people on their toes looking for a combination of free parking and good rates. This adjustment in pricing is done every month, and will not exceed 50 cent intervals at a time.
Whether or not this will be an effective strategy for reducing San Francisco traffic, and thus the tempers of city drivers, is unknown at this point. Though, it definitely seems good on paper. Regardless, this new smart meter system is a step in the right direction, and we’re sure to see more of them poking their heads into major cities around the United States over the next few years.
Read More 
| SF Parks
Gallery: San Francisco Introduces Smart Parking Meters
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The 3D Express Coach brings new meaning to ‘Thru Traffic’
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Design, Science, Transportation,
What do you do when you see a bus in the middle of the road? Drive through it, of course! Try that in America and you won’t be around to see the results, but China may have the answer.
The Chinese engineer firm, Shenzhen Huashi Future Parking Equipment, is hard at work on a new transportation system, called the ‘3D Express Coach’, that will allow road traffic to drive straight through their buses. This new bus design comes as a result of high traffic that has plagued China for some time now, to which the firm claims the 3D Express Coach will cut down on by 30 percent. The bus travels around 37 mph, and can transport over 1400 passengers.
Furthermore, to keep the risk of accident down, the 3D Express Coach will have alarms for cars travelling too close, or to signal when the bus is turning. As well as inflatable escape ladders à la the ones aboard airplanes to assist during emergencies. Construction on the 3D Express Coach will start later this year, with a pilot scheme in Beijing’s Mentougou District beginning in the meantime.
Read More | Daily Mail via CrunchGear
Gallery: The 3D Express Coach brings new meaning to ‘Thru Traffic’
Chevy Volt priced at $41,000, $350 per month lease option
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Transportation,
This morning, GM finally announced what it will cost us to own a Chevy Volt. The revolutionary Extended Range Vehicle is now available for pre-order for $41,000 before a federal tax credit of up to $7,500, bringing the cost down to $33,500. Starting today, you can head to any qualified GM dealership in any one of seven markets, those being California, New York, Michigan, Connecticut, New Jersey, Texas, and Washington DC, and pre-order the car. If you’d rather lease one, you have that option for $350 per month for 36 months, with $2,500 due at signing. The Volt will be delivered late this year in limited quantities.
With purchase of the Chevy Volt buyers will also receive a 120-volt charge cord. However, 4,400 buyers will get a free 240-volt charging station due in part to a Department of Energy program that wants to get a number of homes fitted with charging stations.
Full press release after the jump.
Click to continue reading Chevy Volt priced at $41,000, $350 per month lease option
Read More | Chevy Volt
Gallery: Chevy Volt priced at $41,000, $350 per month lease option
2011 Hyundai Equus user manual will be an iPad
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Transportation,
How’s this for luxury? The 2011 Hyundai Equus will include a 16GB Wi-Fi iPad with every purchase. What’s the connection? Well, Hyundai is trying to be cool, so rather than including a printed manual with the vehicle, the manual will actually be included on the iPad as a custom app. Not only that, but it will come with a custom leather case with an embossed logo, suede on the inside, and the case will double as a stand. Oh, and the manual will include a bunch of video content showing you how to use different features of the Equus. Any updates to the manual will come through iTunes, like any other app. Definitely unique, and a way to stand out from the crowd.
Read More | Autoblog
Gallery: 2011 Hyundai Equus user manual will be an iPad
The New York City Metropolitan Transit Association has just released an overhauled subway map. Changes include more surface area for Manhattan, better colors to represent water and parks, and a bit of a shadow around the subway lines. Staten Island has also been made smaller, since over there they only really have one subway line that goes back and forth. It’s been 12 years since the last time that the NYC MTA made a major revision to the subway map. The NYC subway map is one of the most recognizable transit maps on the planet.
Read More | NY Times
Gallery: NYC MTA reveals updated subway map
Expert Verdict self-weighing suitcase
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Misc. Tech, Transportation,
Self-weighing luggage. What an awesome idea. No, seriously—have you traveled lately? The airlines are going crazy with their checked baggage fees, number of bags checked fees, cost per pound fees (what is this, the produce section?) and the like. The folks over at Expert Verdict have built a roller suitcase that sells for just $100 that has a built-in scale and digital display. You pack your stuff, and it will tell you how much it all weighs. You can even have it give you that information in pounds or kilograms. Yeah, we know. Why didn’t we think of this first?
Read More | Expert Verdict
Gallery: Expert Verdict self-weighing suitcase
Bugatti introducing Galibier V-16 Sedan for the collar-popper with a family
Posted by Finnian Durkan Categories: Transportation,
Were the 90s awesome for you? Did you own a literal ass-ton (it’s an official measurement) of Versace shirts, pointy-toed shoes and hair pomade? Of course you did. The world was your oyster, but at some point along the way, between losing all of your stock options along with most of your hair and dignity, you got saddled saddled with a wife and kids and had to give up the one thing that you based your entire ego around: your two-seat fire-engine red Ferrari that you nicknamed “Chicka-saurus Rex.” Ever since that day it has been one long sad slide into middle age as you putt-putt along in your almost as douchey, but not quite as manly, Porsche Cayenne Turbo SUV or some-such. Well, break out the striped shirt with the dragon embroidered on the back, paint yourself with enough fake-tanner to make an Oompa-Loompa blush and get ready for a return to the salad-days: Bugatti has announced the arrival of a 4-door version of the Veyron, the mascot-car of ass-hats everywhere, in 2012. The 4-door Galibier will still feature the same gas-sucking 16 cylinder, quad-turbo engine that the Veyron has but will also allow you to pretend that you care about your family at the same time. I mean, honestly, what says ‘family man’ more than strapping your wife and kids into a car that has the ability to smash into things at 230MPH? Now all that you need to complete the picture is a house that has stripper poles and a Sesame Street swing-set.
Gallery: Bugatti introducing Galibier V-16 Sedan for the collar-popper with a family
SXSW 2010: Twitter and an Airline: A story
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, Features, Google, Internet, Transportation, Wireless / WiFi,
My friend Jeff Pulver commandeered a room on the 4th floor at SXSW and had several people who he has met around the world present what they believed were success stories about the Twitter service. This goes hand in hand with the 140 Conferences that he is throwing around the world. One such speaker, Bowen Payson, was from the airline Virgin America that has been using Twitter to outreach to their customers.
Bowen began his session by speaking about the differences in their airline from a physical experience. From the black leather Recaro seats, to the mood lighting. Their on-demand in flight entertainment is just as high tech as their communication strategy. The Twitter story began without a strategy and unfolded and matured into more than
60,000 followers as I write this. Their main social contact, Nick Schwartz is the voice of the airline and loves social networking, partially because of his age. They try to keep a consumer centric voice and mind set, and work to make the experience better incrementally.
Click to continue reading SXSW 2010: Twitter and an Airline: A story
Gallery: SXSW 2010: Twitter and an Airline: A story
For those of you with a spare $410,000 laying around your apartment—hidden in your toilet’s water tank or in the base of your wooden-spool coffee table, perhaps—today is your lucky day! BMW has introduced the new Motosport Z4 GT3, and it delivers more than its share of German engineering and lack of emotion. Impress your friends with your ability to not settle for second best AND to pay through the nose for it! You, sir, are man amongst boys! A man, simply, who craves a Miata-sized car with which to project all of his emotional and physical self-worth. ‘Affliction’ t-shirt not included.
Gallery: BMW Introduces Motosport Z4 GT3
ASiQ Bluetooth Access-point for In-flight Service
Posted by Finnian Durkan Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds, Transportation, Wireless / WiFi,
ASiQ Limited has announced the release of the world’s first bluetooth access-point for commercial airlines. According to Ron Chapman, ASiQ’s CEO, airlines will now be able to offer passengers affordable SMS, MMS, Voice-messaging and text email capabilities while in flight via their new SafeCell app. Better still, SafeCell will also eliminate GSM roaming charges since it does not require a GSM connection to deliver its services. Bluetooth access points are far more efficient than their Wi/Fi counterparts, as they operate as a Personal Area Network (PAN) and unlike Wi-Fi do not have to waste time and money logging in to the internet in order to establish a link. The SafeCell App uses file sizes that are so small even a narrow band satellite link can accommodate the SMS/MMS/text-email needs of up to 192 individual passengers. Bluetooth also operates at up to 3 megabits per second making it compatible with any current data or media plan available. Besides giving you more options to drain your battery with whilst in-flight than just playing Bejeweled II, ASiQ’s service will also enable you to completely ignore the fact that you are crammed in a glorified cigar-tube built by the lowest bidder. Hopefully. I’ll be the guy directly behind you faking trying to light his shoe on fire.
