People say

November 4, 2008 - A CNG bus is clean. A diesel bus even cleaner. Buses that run on natural gas are less clean and more expensive than modern diesels, so it is better to opt for the latter, argues professor Maarten Steinbuch of the Eindhoven University of Technology. Read the entire opinion piece right here.

October 23, 2008 - Konrad Otto-Zimmerman, secretary general of ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability), believes that the power to address climate change lies with individuals. "Carbon reduction can’t wait," he says. "The sooner we start reducing carbon emissions, the better, and everyone can contribute to that. We can all make positive changes without waiting for governments to tell us what to do."

October 21, 2008 - "It is a boost for the city to be affiliated with a Europe-wide initiative," says Sally Herbert of the Newcastle City Council about the city's participation in the European Mobility Week. "It helps us generate greater media coverage which, this year, has been particularly widespread."

October 14, 2008 - "The Swiss kilometre charging system is the best practice in Europe. Research has shown that when prices go up by ten per cent, truck kilometres go down by eight per cent. And it’s not just that they’re turning to other methods of transport, like trains, but they’re improving truck efficiency: better logistics planning, making sure trucks are loaded to full capacity," says Jos Dings, director of the European Federation for Transport & Environment (T&E).

October 2, 2008 - According to Karl Heinz Posch, an Austrian mobility expert: "lack of funding when a project finishes means many projects work for a few years and then disappear because there’s no one to monitor any resulting actions. We need funding for better dissemination networks to really take care of the post-project dissemination process."

September 30, 2008 - "Our research results demonstrate that distributing an information kit about public transportation to new residents in an area is a highly effective mobility management measure that can promote the use of public transit and reduce car use." Read the full interview with Dr. Ayako Taniguchi from the University of Tsukuba, Japan.

September 24, 2008 - "In cooperation with North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) and the Netherlands, Shell is looking to start projects with vehicle fleets in the Rhine-Ruhr-Area and the Randstad based on gas-to-liquid (GTL) fuel. We recently finished a feasibility study examining the necessary quantities of GTL fuels and the potential reduction in green house gas emissions." Read the full interview with Dr. Frank Köster of the NRW Energy Agency.

September 19, 2008 - Burning Issue #2: Are initiatives such as "Project Better Place" and the announcement of the Electric Car Europe coalition signs of a real EV breakthrough or just more short-lived hype? Voice your opinion here.

September 3, 2008 - "The most important objective of European Mobility Week is raising awareness," says Mr. Staelens, European Mobility Week coordinator. "But the event also provides cities with the perfect opportunity to experiment with sustainable transport." Read the full interview here.

August 28, 2008 - Van Walwijk, secretary to IEA's Implementing Agreement for Co-operation on Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technologies and Programmes: "In the coming years, one of the main technological challenges we're anticipating concerns batteries. For battery technology to be commercially viable we need to see increased storage capacities, and to extended battery life and make battery power a realistic alternative for long-distance travel." Read the full interview here.

August 18, 2008 - Greg Archer, director of the UK's Low Vehicle Carbon Partnership (LowCVP): "We are focusing on emerging issues, identifying them and working to develop understanding. One of these is how to build and accelerate the market for electric vehicles, as cars and vans require different refuelling infrastructure, but there is no current standard for recharging." Read the entire article right here.

August 8, 2008 - Aberson: biofuels used as scapegoat. According to Dutch biofuels expert Hein Aberson, EU governments must shoulder much of the blame for the biofuels backlash and should do more to encourage and support the sector. More here.

August 5, 2008 - The highs and lows of lowCVP. Now that the smoke has died down and the delegates have left the building - what's the lasting memory of this year's LowCVP annual conference?

July 28, 2008 - Hydrogen vs. electric: the battle continues. A war of words between the advocates of hydrogen fuels and proponents of plug-in electric technologies seems to be raging stateside, with the opposing sides becoming increasingly entrenched – and confrontational – in their arguments. Read more and discuss

June 25, 2008 - The Burning Issue: new car or golden oldie? A new lease car every other year versus using up your car. Which is the more sustainable solution? Let's hear your opinion!

May 9 (updated May 23), 2008 - IMSA chief lays out vision for a sustainable future. In part 1, mr. Wouter van Dieren talks about limiting mobility by rewarding people for opting for sustainable alternatives. In the second part, he goes into the principle of purchasing road capacity per kilometre. In the final article in this series, he shares his view on the future of cargo transport.

May 8, 2008 - Biofuels backlash - the world food crisis in perspective. In the light of the world food crisis, everyone seems to be criticising everyone's biofuels policies these days. But in the heat of the discussion nuances are all too often brushed aside and possible consequences exaggerated. Let´s not forget the context. Who claims what and – not the least important question – why? Read all about it here and voice your opinion.

May 3, 2008 - Sustainable mobility on Earth: Skåne and South East Queensland. The regional approach in sustainable mobility management - two cases. Read how Skåne (Sweden) and South East Queensland (Australia) deal with their specific mobility challenges, determined by their geographical characteristics.

March 18, 2008 (updated Apr.13) - CNG bus cheaper than diesel equivalent. The higher purchase price of CNG buses compared to diesel-powered ones, should no longer be an excuse not to choose CNG buses. A one-year comprehensive and realistic study into the costs of both types of buses, shows that the exploitation of CNG buses is actually cheaper by some 3,000 euros a year. Mr. Santel from Italy reacts to the article sharing with us the good experiences from various Italian cities. Additionally, he explains how maintenance costs can be reduced and besides that, he mentions the option of further reducing CO2 emissions by blending hydrogen and CNG. Read more and have your say.

March 10, 2008 (updated Apr. 4) - Backlash against biofuels continues. Mr. Diederik van der Hoeven critically responds to the "biofuels backlash" article that was published on 10 March: "Other presuppositions lead to other results. In generalising the results of the Science studies to biofuels in general, and by application of US figures to Europe without discussion, the present upshot is indeed part of an unsubstantiated backlash." William adds to this: "Why can't we label 'good' biofuels?". Would that indeed be the way forward? Read more and join discussions here.

February 25, 2008 - Focus on hydrogen production, not applications. "People see hydrogen in transport as an answer to clean mobility, but they don’t think about how it is produced. In most cases, it is fossil fuel based hydrogen, produced in steam reformers or electrolysers. That might be acceptable in the short term, but in the longer term we have to develop sustainable ways to produce hydrogen.” Read more and discuss...

January 17, 2008 - Consumers to blame for lack of hybrid success. “In the end you have to wonder how many people will really buy a hybrid. In Germany, car makers already tried "eco-cars" five years ago (...). [I]t was a disaster. They didn't sell. (...) [C]ustomers didn't like it. And they weren't powerful enough. People will want cars that behave in the same way as their old cars, and won't accept any changes.” Read more and discuss...

November 26, 2007- TNT Goes CNG. “CNG is the only feasible alternative for TNT Express,” says Schulz. “It’s probably the most well-to-wheel CO2 efficient product in widespread use, regarded as a bridging technology to the hydrogen fuels of the future. It is also very versatile. The next step is biogas, which can be mixed with CNG and used in the same engines.” Read more and discuss...

November 17, 2007 - Sustainable mobility on earth: Japan versus the Netherlands. Dr. Catrinus Jepma, professor in energy and sustainability at Groningen University, the Netherlands: "We have reached a dead end in both public transport and motor ways. It would take tremendous infrastructural investments to boost train efficiency – I do not see that happening anywhere soon. And we could broaden motor ways, but bridges and crossings will remain bottlenecks. So more asphalt is no panacea either.” (Photo: RUG.) Read more and discuss...

November 14, 2007 - Time to get behind ethanol. The uptake of bioethanol as a sustainable transport solution is being hindered by misleading comparisons with other green fuels, according to a Douwe-Frits Broens, leading Dutch bioethanol consultant. (Photo: WUR.) Read more and discuss...