An electric bike getaway “car” used by Israeli bomber
In an attempt to settle a business dispute, an Acre-based man from Israel placed a bomb on his enemy’s car and fled the scene using an electric bike.
Transportation
Camel domestication research challenges Bible’s origins
Camel milk and camel burgers are attracting attention in the west, but these desert dwellers have been long-loved in the Middle East. Camels are the horses of the Middle East. Their domestication helped people in the region travel, build and communicate. But when did camels come to the Holy Land?
Empowered Qatari girls win first GCC hybrid electric car competition
An all-women team of Qatari students won the first GCC hybrid electric vehicle competition held in Abu Dhabi over the weekend. Showing some serious girl power, Gernas 114 from Qatar University beat 10 other teams to become the 2014 TAQA GCC Hybrid-Electric Challenge champions.
Renault pulls the plug on Israeli electric cars
The idea was a show-stopper when it was announced: Israel will produce an electric car with a switchable battery. This would reduce range anxiety so more people can buy into buying electric cars. People would pay for the service like you buy minutes for your mobile phone. But the dream has ended as Renault shutters […]
This video will scare you into driving slower
Unlike medication, there are no warning ads that come with your car. The highest road accident fatalities in the world can be found among drivers in the Middle East with Saudi Arabia topping the charts. Care about how your community drives, and your kids? Share this video produced by NZ Transport Agency in New Zealand.
Tour Tel Aviv’s bus station in its all its twisted cement glory
I guess you could say that I have a love-hate relationship with Tel Aviv’s Central Bus Station. Love: because it’s where I met my first true love. Hate: because it’s a colossal monstrosity that traps you inside when you arrive there from anywhere.
Ungreen rich Arab playboys fly in cars to London for holidays [video]
Why do super-rich Arabs drive around in ungreen super luxury gold Porches and other expensive cars while their poor countrymen face starvation?
Transformer train station built to withstand rockets!
Public transport is a must, even for people who live under the toil of troubles and conflict. The Israeli town Sderot that borders the Gaza Strip has just got its first train station, linking them in a sustainable way to the center of the country.
Moovit raises $28 million for public transportation app
After the success of Waze, an app that lets you plan your route and avoid traffic in real time, comes Israel’s next big movement app: Moovit. The company just closed a $28 million round of financing and is coming to a bus stop near you!
Copenhagen Wheel is like a dynamo rocket booster for bikes! [video]
Now there is a good reason not to buy an electric bike: the Copenhagen Wheel from the Senseable City Lab can make you go hybrid with the switch of a tire. In a sense, it turns an ordinary hilly city such as Jerusalem and Amman into flat cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam.
City Transformer electric folding car is a kit car for urban dreams [video]
Israel may have flopped big time when its electric car company Better Place folded this year. It ended with almost a billion in financing and less than 1000 customers signed on to its electric charge network. “Folding” in a positive way is a new concept car from Israel called the City Transformer.
PrimeAir from Amazon could be used for green goods VIDEO
You’ve probably seen the video of Amazon’s Prime Air delivering a customer’s goods within 30 minutes. If not, catch it below. Just as the news broke last week I was taking my kid to a park in Jaffa, Israel and saw a local guy test running what appeared to be a drone that looked just […]
Hyperloop, Elon Musk dreams of a fifth mode of transportation [video]
Elon Musk is known as the founder of SpaceX, a pioneer in the commercialization of space travel and Tesla, a company named after a brilliantly mad high-voltage inventor of the nineteenth century and known for its electric cars. So what happens when this visionary sets his eyes on America’s decaying public transportation infrastructure?
Jordan’s Queen Alia International Airport Upcycled by Anees Maani, Artfully
Amman’s old Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) terminal will live on in a new artwork commissioned by airport operator Airport International Group (AIG). The permanent installation near the majestic new passenger terminal will be a symbolic nod to the proud history of Amman’s premier aeronautical gateway.
Gnrgy Buys Better Place for the Price of an Apartment in Tel Aviv
At a bargain basement price tag of only $450,000 the Israeli startup Gnrgy has bought the assets of the failed electric car company Better Place. Will the third time be the charm? Two other companies have tried to buy Better Place but failed. Gnrgy makes the most sense so far.
Better Place Investor Michael Granoff To Write Tell All Book
With almost a billion in financing and electric battery charge and change stations in place nationwide, at its critical hour Israel’s electric car company Better Place failed. It went bankrupt this year. One of its first investors, and biggest backers Michael Granoff will be writing a tell-all book. He speaks with Green Prophet.
Abu Dhabi is Phasing Out Cars and Siemens Wants to Help
Dubai’s metro started running in 2009 (don’t fall asleep though) but Abu Dhabi, the wealthier Emirate, is only now reducing its dependence on cars with a swanky new rail and tram system. And Siemens hopes to hop on board.
Green Roofed and Wi-Fi Enabled Tawseela Micro Buses Cut Through Cairo’s Traffic
There’s traffic. And then there is Cairo traffic, which can drive even the saintliest men and women to a special kind of madness. But a new public transportation option has popped up that could make getting from point A to point B significantly less stressful.
Formula One Drivers Take On Dubai in an Electric Twizy Frenzy (video!)
A tiny two-person electric car may be the last choice for Formula One race car drivers, but that was the electric ride of choice last week as Formula One drivers rode around Dubai. With massive luxury cars as the status quo, the Twizy was an unusual choice. But alas, it was all about promotion by Renault.
Hövding, An Invisible Inflatable Air Bag Bike Helmet (video)
Bicycle riding in the Middle East is thwarted by challenging climate and terrain, and to lesser extent by culture. A new invisible helmet, akin to an airbag, and pictured above, could incite more Middle Eastern cycling.
Israeli Electric Car Drivers Pay the Piper Today?
Today is D-Day for electric car drivers in condos and apartments in Israel and who use the Better Place charging systems. The Israel Electric Company announced last week that yesterday was the cutoff date.
Turkey Opens World’s Deepest Subsea Tunnel, the Marmaray, Connecting Asia to Europe
Turkey inaugurated the Marmaray undersea railway tunnel on Tuesday, linking Europe and Asia. It is the Marmaray, the world’s deepest immersed tube tunnel at 60.46 metres (198.4 ft).
“No Woman, No Drive” Video by Saudi Comedian Hisham Fageeh, With Lyrics
This is the best pro-women’s rights stuff we’ve seen out of Saudi Arabia, ever. Saudi comedian Hisham Fageeh has posted his excellent No Woman, No Drive video to bring attention to the plight of women in the Middle Eastern country.
Jerusalem’s Eco Bike “Festigalgal” Says Ride to Work!
Jerusalem’s Festigalgal bicycle riding festival winds up next week with emphasis on using bicycles more for in-city transportation.
Latest Purchase Deal for Bankrupt Better Place Company Falls Through
The forlorn photo of empty EV car charging posts says it all. Better Place, the electric car infrastructure company founded by entrepreneur Shai Agassi has still not found a buyer willing to come up with the actual money needed to purchase it.