Topic: Transportation

The Progression of Air Travel

One century ago this month, commercial air flight took off. And before we know it, we could be flying in cars, or taking family vacations to space. As airline bigwigs convene in London to talk the future, we glance at the bumpy path that got us here.READ»

• Now: November 2010
• Read: Decision Points
• Share: National Philanthropy Day

The Bicycle With a Car Transmission

If your bike drove as reliably as your car, would you ride to work?READ»

Hydrogen Highway Gains Momentum with SunHydro's First Fueling Station

This past April, we spoke with a startup that had a grand plan for an East Coast hydrogen highway. That plan is now one step closer to reality with this week's news that SunHydro has built its first hydrogen fueling station.READ»

JetBlue Goes Populist For New Ad Campaign [Video/Pics]

At last night's Masters of Design event, Fiona Morrisson, who helped transform JFK's T5 terminal into JetBlue's hip, people-friendly gateway, teased the audience about the airline's forthcoming brand campaign. Behind it, she ...READ»

iFive: AOL-Yahoo Rumor, Apple's PC Share, Outlook for Macs, Mobile Barcodes a Hit, Feds Scanning Facebook Again

It's Thursday morning, the Chilean miners are free. And even more innovation news emerged from the depths while you slept.READ»

Put Me in Coach...

About that seat next to you on the flight that you were hoping to be empty...READ»

How B2B Stars Innovate – and Why Airlines Have Hit a Black Hole

A recent article in U.S. News & World Report disclosed that in 2010, airlines have generated $2.1B in additional passenger revenues through clever, and often egregious pricing strategies. The "pay to breathe, walk or eat" pricing approach is rapidly eclipsing customer service in the airline industry, and customers like me are furious. StarCite, a B2B technology company serving the travel industry, has charted a different course.In this article, CEO Greg Dukat outlines a customer-centric innovation strategy that will surely outlive the airlines' approach.READ»

Fiona Morrisson Brands JetBlue With Whimsical Design

Fiona Morrisson helps JetBlue soar above the airline industry’s turbulence by merging branding and design.READ»

• 2010 Masters of Design

Back in the Saddle Again

 It is with no small amount of glee with which I report, dear readers, that I did not say it first. In fact, Wired magazine's "World's Most Cramped Airline Seat to Launch Next Week" article said what we were all thinking: ...READ»

Hacking Work: Redesigning a Bad System

Bill Jensen and Josh Klein's new book, "Hacking Work" is about righteous rule-breaking. Here, the authors explain how one bus company had a broken system and how a fix for it emerged.READ»

Amtrak's $117 Billion Plan For High Speed Travel

It's a dream to make Joe Biden weep: trains that connect East Coast cities at 220 miles per hour. But it won't be finished until 2040. Hear that sound? That's Europe and Asia laughing. READ»

How Plane Fuel Kills 8,000 People a Year

As if airlines needed any more reason to reduce emissions, MIT scientists report that pollution from airplanes flying at cruise altitude in the First World cause deadly pollution in the Third World.READ»

Work/Life: Is It a Gold Rush or a Roller-Coaster Ride?

 Whether the recession has just ended or we are sliding back into a double dip, no one seems to really know. but that hasn't stopped the recent surge in stories about how the airline industry is recovering, or that ...READ»

Visa's “Wave to Pay” Offers Transit Purchases via iPhone Swipe

Paying for your subway ride may soon require just a wave of your iPhone rather than a swipe of a metro card.READ»

Steve Jobs Is a Ninja, Carries Throwing Stars

We all knew he was a Jedi Master--but a ninja warrior too?READ»

Airport "Naked" Body Scanners Get Privacy Upgrade to Anonymize Your Naughty Bits

Airport security scanners that literally see through your clothes are contentious. Because ... well, think about shadowy TSA guys peeping at your bits. Hence one firm is tweaking them to anonymize your "x-rays" to protect your decency.READ»

Bagging It

Business travelers travel light. Long ago we learned that the formula for disaster on a business trip was to depend on the airlines to deliver luggage on time and undamaged. Woe betide the road warrior who makes the mistake of checking baggage that contains something vital to a business meeting or is otherwise irreplaceable.READ»

Smooth Landing For New Plane Guidance Technology

GE has launched a flight path program aimed at reducing delays, cutting carbon emissions, and saving airlines billions. READ»

Employees Taking Flight

How to really prevent your employees from jumping ship.READ»

It's No Cars Go in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Makeover

$1.5 billion is being pumped into a massive city re-design, turning it into a walking city, with no cars allowed.READ»

From Winning to Crazy: How to Assess Your Company's Ideas

The review of Kaihan Krippendorff's strategy framework continues with a look at how to evaluate potential strategies to isolate those with the highest potential.READ»

India's Capital City Using Facebook to Nab Reckless Drivers

Another example of how crime fighting tech is beginning to mirror a dystopian future -- police in India's capital city have started using Facebook and crowdsourcing to catch traffic violators.READ»

"Greener Skies" Project Lowers Flight Emissions by 35%

This week, Alaska Airlines demonstrated a set of next-generation flight procedures that dramatically reduced fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Under the banner of its "Greener Skies" project, AA used satellite-based guidance ...READ»

What Will Commercial Aircraft Look Like in 2050?

Boeing's 747-8 jumbo jet may represent the best of what engineers have to offer now, but Airbus has reached 40 years into future and come back with a design that barely resembles the aircraft of today. The Concept Plane, revealed ...READ»

America in 2050: Urban, Suburban, or Both?

Last Wednesday night, Joel Kotkin--a futurist and (sub)urban historian--squared off in a debate against Christopher Leinberger, a developer, consultant and proponent of "walkable urbanism." The topic: "America 2050: What Will We ...READ»