Designer Chiyu Chen has conceived of an ingenious transit system that encourages the use of sustainable transportation by crediting people for renting and riding bicycles. His Hybrid2 system consists of a fleet of rentable bicycles that are capable of generating and storing kinetic energy, which is then used to power the city’s hybrid electric buses. Simply rent a bike, charge it up with kinetic energy from pedal power, and then return it to a kiosk – the station feeds energy into the city’s smart grid, and you receive a credit towards your next bus pass!
The answer to the climate crisis is going to come in myriad forms. This transit model, centering around bikes and buses, may be part of the solution. Consider it.
Find more info on the Hybrid2 Bike Rental System at inhabitat.com
To me, this type of system, although it is very technical, is at its heart a wonderful example of Cicero's notion of "civiliter" or living together, under a common ethical code, as a member of a community.
ReplyDeleteSee the subsequent post on Cicero's "civiliter":
http://afctank.blogspot.com/2009/09/ciceros-civiliter.html