August 13, 2005
Car number plates and RFID
More surveillance news. ‘Active’ RFID micro-chipped e-plates are to be tested on vehicles here. Tracking chipped cars is said to be much more accurate than using other methods.
Hills Numberplates Ltd have a good website page explaining the technology.
www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,68429,00.html
Wired News also have a good general introduction to RFID.
www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,68271,00.html
Posted by Simon Holledge at 09:34 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 27, 2005
The car that is "any colour you want as long as it's green"
According to the Going Green website there are now more than 200 Reva G-Wiz electric cars on the streets of London. The car (not advertized to keep the price down) was designed in California and manufactured by Reva in Bangalore.
The G-Wiz costs about GBP 7,000 and is exempt from road tax (and the London congestion charge). Fuel efficiency is claimed to be equivalent to 600 mpg. There are three test drive sites in London.
Could it cope with the Edinburgh hills? Also it’s worth remembering that the car is only as clean as the electricity that goes into it. If the electricity was made from coal in Cockenzie or Longannet then the car would actually be contributing to global warming.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 10:04 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 23, 2005
The dualling of the A1
There has been some discussion about whether safety or economic regeneration should be the focus for the camapign for the dualling of the A1 road from the Borders into Northumberland.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4709261.stm
www.berwickshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=972&ArticleID=1093659
Posted by Simon Holledge at 11:58 PM | TrackBack
June 26, 2005
First Group USA labour practices 'pernicious'
First Group, who run trains and buses throughout Britain, are criticized in the Observer for their ‘pernicious’ employment practices in North America.
They are said to deny their American drivers sick leave, paid holidays and adequate medical insurance, while refusing to recognize labour unions.
Do they have any answer to these charges? There is no response to the Observer article on their website press release page.
observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1514814,00.html?gusrc=rss
Posted by Simon Holledge at 11:24 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 11, 2005
Spray-on mud
A Shropshire company is selling spray-on mud that enhances the rugged appeal of 4x4 SUVs, and obscures number plates from speed cameras. (Of course they tell you not to do the latter.)
www.wired.com/news/autotech/0,2554,67794,00.html
Posted by Simon Holledge at 06:09 PM | TrackBack
June 10, 2005
Pay as you drive scheme
New Labour all over again. Darling’s ‘Pay as you drive’ scheme is the companion policy to ID cards.
The public is asked to pay for new (GPS) technology, which may or may not be administered properly, which provides information to the government which is not accessible to the public. Another form of surveillance.
Transport problems in Britain are economic and environmental. Solutions have to be found that increase efficiency and use cleaner energy, in other words we need to improve public transport and change over to using vehicles that run on different fuels.
Darling’s proposal is on the face of it a step backwards. The present reliance on fuel tax does at least mean that people with fuel inefficient vehicles pay more than those who have ‘greener’ cars. At present the disparity between the best and worst performers is about five to one. Any transport policy that fails to recognize this must surely be wrong.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4075490.stm
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=636152005
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4077760.stm
Posted by Simon Holledge at 11:21 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 25, 2005
Glasgow M74 Link
Glasgow has a prime collection of unfinished motorways. Maybe it would be better not to have any at all, but they exist: the incomplete M8, the incomplete M80, the incomplete M74.
The government have decided to go ahead with a controversial scheme to complete the M74, at the cost of about 500 million pounds, and opinions for and against are, of course, diametrically opposed.
I am not sure what to think. Normally I am against building motorways in cities and would prefer money to be spent on public transport, but given that most of the system is already there, wouldn’t it be better to complete it?
It’s a big project trying to turn Los Angeles into Amsterdam.
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=317052005
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4379553.stm
www.foe-scotland.org.uk/press/pr20050316.html
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4382817.stm
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4386593.stm
Posted by Simon Holledge at 11:05 AM | TrackBack
March 15, 2005
Waverley Railway Project II
The Scottish Executive are backing the re-opening of the Waverley Line from Edinburgh to the Borders, but only to the tune of 115 million pounds which the SNP and the Greens don’t think is enough. An additional 36 million has to come from other sources (see also 31 August 2004).
Given poor infrastructure of almost every kind in the Borders, the railway line may well be essential for any kind of growth there.
UPDATE 19 March 2005
The Guardian have an interesting article on the project.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4343439.stm
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=279952005
www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1441324,00.html
Posted by Simon Holledge at 08:46 PM | TrackBack
February 16, 2005
Trains worse again
The train service in Scotland is getting worse, rather than better.
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=175852005
Posted by Simon Holledge at 01:06 PM | TrackBack
February 06, 2005
Orkney tunnel?
The Orkney Council are discussing an exciting proposal to link South Ronaldsay and the mainland via a 7-mile tunnel (costing about 100 million pounds), probably after testing the viability of the idea by building shorter tunnel links between outlying islands.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4236595.stm
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:04 AM | TrackBack
December 22, 2004
Skye Bridge Lib
Lib may stand for liberation or liberals, and both fit when the news is the buy-back of the Skye Bridge - and the removal of the GBP 5.70 toll - as a result of Liberal Democrat pressure on the Scottish Labour government. A victory of sorts.
The history of the Skye Bridge demonstrates that PFI (private finance initiatives) don’t work when they impose an unpopular burden on local people.
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1456832004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 07:09 PM | TrackBack
August 31, 2004
Waverley Railway Project
A new study by consultants Tribal HCH backs the restoration of the historic Waverley rail link between Edinburgh and the Borders, a 29-mile line between Edinburgh and Galashiels.
news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1020732004
No doubt this will be strongly supported by the SNP.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 07:59 PM