News

The popular belief that without the school run traffic would always run as freely as in the holidays is false, and far from adding to congestion, the school run reduces it in cities according to the Environmental Transport Association (ETA). A spokesperson for the ETA said: “If every child started walking to school then by next year there...

All the major manufacturers at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show are expected to showcase at least one hybrid concept cars, not least those that will be on their home turf. Mercedes will exhibit the BlueZero E-Cell Plus, a plug-in hybrid which it claims is able to travel 62 miles on battery power alone. The car’s range can be boosted to more...

The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is introducing a new element to the theory part of the driving test. From September 28th candidates sitting the test will read a case study before being asked five multiple-choice questions. This addition comes on top of the existing multiple choice and hazard perception sections. A spokesperson at the DSA...

If a tortuous hill has ever left you wishing you could call on superhuman powers, you may be in the market for a new design of electrically-assisted bicycle that monitors its rider’s muscular effort and then multiplies it by up to fifty times, propelling the eROCKIT bike to a top speed of up to 50mph. The eROCKIT may look unusual, but the...

You may be old enough to remember both the fanfare that accompanied the launch of the Sinclair C5 – an electric vehicle boasting cutting-edge technology that, we were told, would do away with the need for cars – and its descent to popular object of ridicule. More recently, the American Segway electric stand-up scooter made much the same...

Commuters who have tried to combine a train journey with a bicycle trip can feel at best as if the rail operators are doing their best to dissuade them. Peak-time bans are common – even London-to-Brighton charity bike riders are prevented from travelling by train – but a sustainable way of getting about that is almost as old as the bicycle...

Toyota will display its latest hybrid vehicle, the Auris HSD, at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this month. Britain will become the first country in Europe to build hybrid cars following the decision by Toyota to produce the Auris at its Burnaston plant near Derby. The Auris hybrid shares its chassis, 1.8litre petrol engine and electric...

A teenager has been caught driving at 125mph less than two weeks after passing his test. Vern Ross, who was 17 at the time of the offence, was on a stretch of the A90 when he was stopped by an unmarked police car. He has been convicted of dangerous driving and will be sentenced after background reports are carried out. In other news, two...

BMW will use the Frankfurt Motor Show later this month to unveil its latest high-performance concept car – a turbo-diesel hybrid electric design called the Vision. The company claims that the car can run for 31 miles on electric power, emitting only 99g/km of carbon in the process. The car sports a conventional 1.5-litre turbo-diesel...

The transport operator, Stagecoach, is being battered as its revenue growth slows, but the company’s founder, Brian Souter, has upped his support for sustainable fuels by investing in a producer of biodiesel from used chip fat. Souter Investments, his family’s investment firm, has bought a large stake in Argent Energy, a Scottish biodiesel...