THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 11, 1995 TAG: 9512090083
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: TECH TRACK
GADGETS AND GIZMOS FOR THE NEXT CENTURY
SOURCE: BY JAMES SCHULTZ, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
COULD BE THAT Santa is so jolly because he never gets stuck in traffic.
But don't let highway congestion sour your holiday spirit. Help is on the way - maybe not for this Yuletide, but for seasons still to come.
According to The Futurist magazine, French automobile company PSA Peugot Citroen is beginning work on what it calls the ``Tulip System.'' The venture (in French, Tulip stands for Transport Urbain Libre Individuel et Public) would combine the best of both worlds: independent travel on publicly owned vehicles.
At the concept's heart is a fleet of tiny, tear-shaped, battery-powered ``urban'' cars. The vehicles would incorporate the latest in technology, including advanced lightweight structural materials, on-board computers, collision-avoidance radars, and an infrared receiver/transmitter that would continually broadcast each car's position.
Planners would thus be able to route the two-seat ``Tulipmobiles'' around backups and other slowdowns, considerably easing congestion.
Commuters would simply show up at small pickup-and-dropoff stations within walking or biking distance of neighborhoods and office complexes. Once there, drivers could flash a credit or debit card, hop in and travel to their destination. Once done, they would return the car to the station nearest the final stop, indicated by the Tulipmobile's computerized maps.
Since the cars, the stations and all supporting equipment would be publicly owned, motorists wouldn't have to worry about mini-car maintenance or upkeep. ``Plugless'' battery recharging would be automatic, made possible by an induction device that would engage once the Tulipmobile pulled up and over a specially designed concrete pad.
If successful, a version of this system could make its way across the Atlantic to U.S. shores, landing first in the most grid-locked American cities. Taxpayers would foot the bill - at first glance, not much of a Christmas present.
But as road-weary motorists of every nationality know full well, whenever traffic comes to a screeching halt, everybody ends up paying anyway. MEMO: ``Tech Track'' will appear every Monday in the Daily Break. Readers
with ideas for future columns are invited to contact staff science and
technology writer James Schultz at (804) 446-2599, or via e-mail at
schultz@infi.net
by CNB