Transportation
From autonomous EVs to electric planes, from hydrogen trains to biofuel transportation, check out the most recent developments on how we’re moving transportation towards a more sustainable future in the good news section below.
What if you could power your home with your car?
One of the things we find reassuring about electric cars — besides the fact that they produce fewer emissions and don’t hurt our planet nearly as much — is the idea that we could charge one from our very own homes instead of having to drive to a gas station. What if it worked the other Read More...
This “Infinity Train” only needs gravity to recharge
Australian mining company Fortescue and Fortescue Future Industries are collaborating with UK-based Williams Advanced Engineering to create the Infinity Train—the world’s first battery-electric self-charging train. How does it work? A zero-carbon electric train that never needs to stop to Read More...
Congress approves $350 million for wildlife crossings
Funding was finally secured in January for the construction of a wildlife crossing over the 101-freeway in Southern California, which cuts through the Santa Monica Mountains and the habitats of many native animals. The Optimist Daily has been closely following stories of wildlife crossings like Read More...
This highway was made from recycled diapers
Recycling plastic to create a new purpose for it is nothing new. Here at The Optimist Daily, we’ve previously shared how innovators have reused this material to create blocks for building, a sleek chair, and LEGO bricks. A diaper highway For the first time, the plastic in diapers is being Read More...
The EV charging stations of the future are about the experience, not the wait
Thankfully it looks like the era of the electric vehicle is on the rise, which means that gas stations as we know them will hopefully go extinct (along with the harmful CO2 emissions that go hand in hand with them). Instead, new kinds of service stations will take their place, but what will they Read More...
AI traffic lights could make traffic flow way more efficient
We’ve all been there—running late and trapped behind a red light, even though there’s little to no traffic flowing on the other side. This is made even more frustrating if it happens to be one of those traffic lights in your town or city that, for some reason, always remains red for what Read More...
Cargo e-bikes are here to make parcel delivery more efficient
The final step in parcel delivery is called the “last mile”. It is essentially the stage of a product’s journey from a warehouse, into a truck, and finally to the buyer’s doorstep. While key to customer satisfaction, this final step is also overwhelmingly inefficient. This is because Read More...
Could electric rail vehicles be the future of freight?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, medium- and heavy-duty trucks are responsible for 24 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions spewed by the transportation industry in the US. A team of former SpaceX engineers has designed an electric rail alternative to upturn this Read More...
Berlin plans to have the world’s largest car-free urban area
In recent years, many cities around the world have become much more aware of the plight of designing our urban spaces with a car-centric mentality. In Europe in particular, cities like Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, and Stockholm are well ahead when it comes to reclaiming urban space from cars in Read More...
Smart harness helps visually impaired people avoid collisions while walking
As many automotive companies scramble to shape the future of mobility, self-driving cars have been one of the most talked-about topics in the tech scene in recent years. Many believe that autonomous vehicles could help solve many of the problems related to our current transportation systems in Read More...