The mass bike ride on Saturday underscored a growing trend in Budapest, as more and more people shun four-wheel vehicles and all their associated problems. With the world observing Earth Day on Monday, the growing cyclist culture in Budapest offers important lessons on protecting the environment, not just in Hungary but around the world, activists say. Mass cycling events have had a significant influence over the city's infrastructure planning.

The co-founder of Hungary's Critical Mass, Sinka Karoly, said he and his partner were inspired to hold the first event when the then-mayor moved a Europe-wide car-free day from a weekday to the weekend, so that traffic would not be blocked.

Next year, the city's public transportation authority is expected to introduce a bicycle-sharing system similar to those in Paris and London, where commuters can rent a bike from docking stations throughout the capital.

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The primary objective is to focus the functionality around the needs of the passenger group. Blind or partially sighted passengers, deaf or hearing-impaired passengers and those with learning or motor difficulties could all benefit from the clever use of phone functions, good design and useful features to access our services. Older people who find conventional information challenging may also benefit from a design that allows minimal interaction, easy route planning, simple navigation and journey guidance. What you design is up to you.
A submitted app needn't address the needs of all disabled passengers. For example, the developer could solely focus on designing an app for older people who find conventional information challenging. Another developer could design an app solely to help blind people navigate. The key is simplicity and prizes will be awarded in several different categories. In order to be eligible, apps must be submitted to the TFL by Friday, August 30, 2013.

Guidelines of what the judges are looking for in accessible London travel apps can be found here.

Dutch-style intersections with corner islands keep cyclists and vehicles separate on major routes.

Research was done around the country and overseas before drawing up the guidelines, which are designed to ensure that network takes advantage of international best practice. They recommend that major cycleways in busy urban areas should feature Copenhagen-style separated cycle paths and Dutch-style intersections with corner islands that keep cyclists and vehicles separate. In residential areas, the guidelines recommend the council use simple measures such as lower speeds, traffic restraints, way-finding, crossing treatments and landscaping to create neighbourhood greenways that are friendly for walking and cycling. In parks and reserves, the guidelines advocate the creation of shared pathways.

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Employees who are eating well and exercising three times a week have a higher job performance, and lower rates of absenteeism, according to research by the Health Enhancement Research Organisation (HERO), Brigham Young University, and the Centre for Health Research at Healthways. According to the findings, health can indeed have a similarly healthy effect on the organisation’s performance. Workers who eat healthy the entire day are 25% more likely to have better job performance; employees who exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, three times a week are 15% more likely to have better job performance; and job performance is 11% higher among those who are not obese.

"The latest study investigating the link between employee health, performance, and productivity reinforces the business case for employers to provide comprehensive, evidence-based health management programs for their workforce," Jerry Noyce, president and CEO of HERO, said.

Published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the study also shows the flipsides of employee’s poor health on job performance. Obese workers have recurring absenteeism due to chronic diseases and other weight-related conditions. These rates of absenteeism rank higher than other health-related issues, like depression or other health conditions unrelated to weight.

According to Dr Arya Sharma, scientific director of the Canadian Obesity Network, it’s important to encourage lifestyle changes, rather than focusing on weight. “If the scales don’t change it doesn’t matter, the focus really should be on trying to promote healthy behaviors; taking a break for lunch, not eating at your desk, providing healthy snacks, stress management and creating a culture around taking the time to eat healthy,” he said.

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In September 2012, car-sharing company MOPeasy and e-mobility company Sodetrel joined forces to launch a new integrated electric car-sharing scheme for companies in Neuilly-sur-Seine (Grand Paris area). The system is now operational in more than 10 locations in France.

The partnership was announced at the 2012 Salon de l’Automobile in Paris on the 28th September. A recent survey in France revealed that 86% of the French think electric cars are the future of urban traffic and more than 1.5 million vehicles will be shared among companies by 2020. In this context, the objective of Sodetrel and MOPeasy is to provide an integrated, simple and user-friendly solution that allows every decision maker to optimise their travel costs and comply with environmental requirements. 
MOPeasy presented an innovative electric car-sharing scheme: key management is integrated in the charging point, the service operates autonomously and is also available in areas not covered by the telephone network. 

Users can reserve their vehicle through an application available online for tablets and smartphones. They then receive a code to type in the charging point where their vehicle is parked. The keys are in the charging point.

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There is surging demand for more effective and efficient ways of working – and this extends to when business people are on the move. Kemp believes,” In practical terms, mobile workers want drop-in workspace to meet clients or suppliers in a professional setting, or to work in peace and quiet between their meetings, or to print documents and pick up parcels.”

The two companies already have a partnership in France and have opened a Regus Express on the autoroute southwest of Paris. Additionally, Regus recently launched a series of workhubs on the rail network in The Netherlands with NS trains and is planning to do so with SNCF in France, and has partnered with Extra Motorway Service Area Group and Staples stationery stories in the UK to trial business centres on the UK motorway network and retail environment.

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The data come from research conducted by the province of Flemish-Brabant which through censuses and surveys built up a picture of the users of the cycling route.. The roughly 31 km non-stop cycling route runs parallel to the high speed railway line through several communities and some stations and connects to the cycling route network of the Brussels Metropolitan Area. In 2011 the provincial Mobility Service started a pilot project to find out how one could get an accurate picture of the cycling traffic by means of automated censuses. This happened both at mobile and fixed counting stations. Not only were cyclists counted, but also types of bikes were distinguished based on the distance between the wheel-axles, such as children's bikes, students‘ and adults’ bikes as well as mopeds. The ratio of functional and recreational cycle traffic was calculated on the basis of a hypothesis. One of the conclusions is that the range of the cycling commuter is considerable: an average of 18,71 km. The majority of the interviewees travels more than 10 km. 44,4% of respondents travel more than 20 km. The average calculated speed was high too, 24 km/hour being predominant. The main trumps of of the fast cycling route are that it is car-free, quiet and comfortable. Width and comfort appeal to cyclists. Apart from being able to assess the usage of the route with the tested counting method, one also expects to be able to measure the effect of signage for cyclists.

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However big or small, any project that is helping to lower or avoid CO2 emissions and improve people’s quality of life can be submitted. Entries are welcome from individuals, entrepreneurs, businesses, public and private organisations - in fact, from anyone with good ideas!

On of the five categories is travel & transport. The other categories are innovative production, building & living, shopping & eating and re-use & recycling. The project should contribute to avoiding, reducing or dealing with carbon emissions – on a technical or behavioural level. Your project should illustrate good practice and provide a role model for other people or organisations.

The Challenge starts on 11 February 2013 and will be open for submissions for three months. After the three months submission phase, visitors to the campaign website will be able to vote for the most creative and inspiring initiative to create a world we like. From the ten most popular projects, a jury will select three winners. These will be invited to an award ceremony in Copenhagen in autumn. 

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New registrations amounted to 885,159 cars, reaching a historic low recorded for a month of January, since the start of the series in 1990.

Looking at the major markets, only the UK posted growth (+11.5%), while downturn prevailed in Germany (-8.6%), Spain (-9.6%), France (-15.1%) and Italy (-17.6%). In absolute figures, Germany remained the largest market with 192,090 new registrations, followed by the UK (143,643 units), France (124,798) and Italy (113,525). Spain registered 49,671 new cars, which was slightly less than Belgium (50,684 units).

Source: ACEA

EPOMM has made a new e-update. This e-update highlights the revolution of the electric car, the e-bike and pedelec. Further the programme of ECOMM 2013 is online and the registration of the conference is open.

Read the EPOMM e-update March 2013