Portland map aims to get Latinos biking and hiking

by Abelardo de la Pena Jr. WHAT’S HAPPENING In Portland, OR, people bike or walk just about everywhere. To get Latinos to join in, Metro, the elected regional government and healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente are partnering to create a bilingual biking and hiking map. The project, called “Vámonos,” will promote existing biking and walking routes […]

HAPPY HEART DAY, SIENNA

by Stefania Revelli In honor of Valentine’s Day, I’d like to share a relationship story. With a third child en route, I recently traded in my 2004 Toyota RAV4 for a pre-owned Sienna. Endless room, heated seats, built-in entertainment, bumper-to-bumper sensors, easy entry, alloy wheels — and yet I felt unmoored. Becoming a so-called minivan […]

NOT JUST ANOTHER MANIC MONDAY

by Kelly Stevens What a week! The U.K. has been experiencing the earliest widespread snowfall since 1993, with Monday touted as the coldest November day for 100 years (DailyMirror.co.uk, 29 November 2010). Road conditions were treacherous all over the nation, keeping people at home. Meanwhile, London was also hit with a tube strike: 80 stations […]

Delhi gets a women-only cab service

by Kiran Manral WHAT’S HAPPENING Sakha Wings Consulting has introduced a new cab service in New Delhi that features only female drivers and caters exclusively to women who need a safe mode of transportation within the city. This service is welcomed by women who need to travel on a daily basis within the city for […]

EV chargers get domestic

by Stefania Revelli WHAT’S HAPPENING As the popularity of electric vehicles climbs, so does the convenience factor behind charging stations that allow more drivers to charge quickly, without leaving home. GE’s WattStation Level 2 home version, slated for release in 2011, will be able to fully charge a car in four to eight hours. U.K.-based […]

Feds mandate easier-to-read street signs to aid older drivers

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Out: “ELMWOOD ST.” In: “Elmwood St.” To help boost the fading vision of aging Boomers and Matures, the Federal Highway Administration is mandating new road signs. By 2015, signs marking streets and highways across the U.S. must be written in caps and lowercase letters, which experts say makes them easier […]

Easy-riding trikes help older bikers hit the road

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Aging bikers don’t have to hang up their helmets when aches and pains make it tough to ride. Boomers and even Matures are taking to the streets on motorcycle trikes, which pack the power of a chopper with the comfort of a car (ABCNews.com 1.24.10). Trikes go easy on the […]

Cambridge citations befriend guilty drivers

by Sarah Barker WHAT’S HAPPENING To encourage a better karmic connection between parking police and drivers, the city of Cambridge, MA, printed 40,000 tickets illustrated with yoga poses that the driver and officer can perform together (Good.is 9.22.10). The project is the brainchild of Rhode Island School of Design professor and artist-in-residence Daniel Peltz, who […]

HONK IF YOU’RE SITTING IN TRAFFIC

by Josh Kimball On the highways here in Delhi, the past and future share a lane. Creeping one way are shiny PR campaigns meant to thwart the raucous honking that accompanies any congregation of more than a couple of cars. Headed the other direction? The very audible, commonly agreed upon rules of the road, signified […]

Jonas Brothers to teens: X the TXT

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Softballs aren’t the only thing the Jonas Brothers are pitching on their 2010 Road Dogs tour, where they open each show with a softball game. They’ve also got a message for teen drivers: “X the TXT.” Sponsored by Allstate, the free tour stops at minor-league stadiums nationwide. Fans can join […]

Teens defer dream of buying first car

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Buying your first car used to be a rite of passage. Not these days. In the wake of the recession, just 4.2 million teens are expected to purchase used cars in 2010, down from 7.5 million in 2005, CNW Research reports (USA Today 7.28.10). With teen unemployment at 27%, fewer […]

Ford takes info campaign route to attract Latino car buyers

by Abelardo de la Peña Jr. WHAT’S HAPPENING U.S. vehicle sales are slowly recovering; during May 2010, 1.1 million cars and light trucks were sold, 19.1% higher than May 2009 (DetNews.com 6.28.10). To help get more cars into the hands of Hispanic-dominant Latinos, Ford is teaming up with SABEResPODER (Knowledge Is Power), an online educational […]

Ridesharing shifts into a new gear with RelayRides

by Stefania Revelli WHAT’S HAPPENING Think of it as community car sharing. RelayRides is a person-to-person car-sharing-service enabling users to rent their underused vehicles to others who need a ride (Springwise.com 1.28.10). Car owners simply need to register online and arrange for a keyless system to be installed in the automobile. Owners determine rental fees, […]

Millennials drive the move to smaller cars

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Think small. That’s the Millennial mantra when it come to cars. Half of today’s young adults are buying compacts or subcompacts, while only one in five are choosing a midsize model (New York Times 11.19.09). With Millennials poised to become the largest car-buying cohort, Ford is betting its future on […]

Florida turnpike will no longer accept cash

by Hans Eisenbeis WHAT’S HAPPENING It’s a trend we’ve been watching: Some businesses are no longer accepting bills and coins, only plastic. First the airlines discontinued cash for onboard service, then a restaurant in Manhattan. By 2011, a section of the Florida Turnpike will have its tollbooths torn down and replaced with EZ-Pass-style readers and […]