transit

Ford is partnering with Azure Dynamics on a five-seater station wagon version of its Transit Connect all-electric vans.

Both companies announced the project Wednesday in time for the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show.

The Ford Transit Connect Electric Wagon will be available in North America immediately, with plans to eventually sell it in Europe as well.

The Transit Connect vans, which went into production in 2010, are already in the fleets of AT&T, DHL, FedEx, and Post Norway, to name a few. The vehicle won the 2010 North American Truck of the Year award, to the surprise of … Read more

A Dutch prosecutor has decided not to charge journalist Brenno de Winter with fraud for publicly discussing security weaknesses in the country's new OV transit chip card.

"Given the public interest, (his) meticulous work and the minimal damage caused, the prosecutor stated that the importance of freedom of information in this case outweighs (claims of fraud) and decided to close the case," a statement from the Dutch public prosecutor in Utrecht said.

De Winter told CNET in an interview that he is relieved at the decision and will now be able to resume his writing on the … Read more

We've mentioned earlier that BMW would have a role in updating the Bay Area Rapid Transit (or BART, as it's known locally), the commuter rail system that serves the San Francisco Bay Area. Today, we have a preview video that gives us an idea of what that refresh will look like.

On the outside, the trains don't look radically different from what you'd expect to see from a commuter train. They're all basically metal boxes that hold people. New external LCDs show the train's destination and the doors get yellow illuminated trim that serves … Read more

Google buys Motorola Mobility! Once we figure out that it's not actually a joke, we grabbed News.com senior writer Maggie Reardon to help break it all down for us. Upshot: patents, patents, and more patents, and a war with its hardware partners. And also, a sea change in the entire industry. So, no big deal. Also, Anonymous rides to war with San Francisco's subway system over free speech, and we're with Anonymous. And did Apple's amazing Photoshop skills kill Galaxy Tab sales in Europe? The plot thickens.

LAS VEGAS--Dutch journalist Brenno de Winter has covered Black Hat and Defcon for years, but he won't be at the security conferences here this week and is hindered in his work after being targeted by Dutch transportation companies for publicizing weaknesses in the new transit chip card.

De Winter, a freelancer who covers security for IDG affiliate WebWereld and other Dutch media outlets, has written articles about the problems with the OV transit chip card and appeared on numerous TV and radio stations in January demonstrating how the OV transit payment system could be defrauded by using software tools available on the Internet. Introduction of the card was temporarily postponed, and the Dutch Parliament skipped a debate on the war in Afghanistan to discuss the matter, he told CNET in a call today.

Trans Link Systems--formed by the five largest Dutch public transportation companies to create a single payment system, dubbed the OV chip card--filed a criminal complaint against de Winter with the public prosecutor's office and in June police questioned him for four hours, he said. No official charges have been filed, but de Winter said he has learned that he potentially faces charges of manipulating a debit card, having the tools to do so, and hacking a system, which could bring a six-year prison sentence.

A Trans Link spokesman said de Winter was questioned as part of an investigation into fraud. "Trans Link Systems filed a criminal complaint with the public prosecutor's office against fraud with OV-chipcards. Not against de Winter," spokeswoman Anita Hilhorst said in an e-mail statement. "The public prosecutor has investigated this fraud and because of this investigation the police questioned de Winter."… Read more

While nobody outright asked Apple where the next iPhone was during the company's third-quarter earnings call this afternoon, in answering a question about its fourth-quarter earnings forecast, the company alluded to a "future product transition" happening sometime before the end of quarter, which ends in September.

Responding to a question from Morgan Stanley analyst Katie Huberty about why the company was forecasting such "soft" numbers for its fourth quarter, Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said the company was in fact expecting higher year over year sales of Mac computers, iPhones, and the iPad, with … Read more

To reduce air pollution, carbon emissions, and gas consumption, New York City is adding electric cars to its vehicle fleet.

 Mayor Michael Bloomberg, along with several other officials, announced that the city purchased 10 electric Ford Transit Connect cargo vans, 10 Navistar eStar electric utility trucks, and 50 Chevrolet Volts that will be shared by several agencies, including the police and fire departments.

"This is the latest and largest-ever addition of electric vehicles to the City's fleet, which is already the largest municipal clean-air vehicle fleet in the nation," said Mayor Bloomberg.

The city believes that … Read more

Google Maps for Android hit version 5.7 today, and it includes a significant update in the form of Transit Navigation (beta). Now, users in over 400 cities around the world will get to enjoy turn-by-turn and stop-by-stop navigation for public transit systems. The feature is perfect for when you're traveling and you can't read the signage or don't understand the language, and it's difficult for you to decipher your next stop.

Transit Navigation uses GPS to determine your current location along your route and alerts you when it's time to get off or make … Read more

If you've ever used public transportation, you know that buses and trains don't always run according to schedule. Things happen, and transit schedules can't always account for station delays, detours, or construction, leaving you more or less guessing what time you'll eventually arrive at your destination.

Well, starting today, Google Maps for mobile and desktop provides live transit updates in select cities, taking some of the annoying guesswork out of your commute. Instead of seeing what time your bus is supposed to arrive, you'll see what time your bus will actually arrive, meaning you'll … Read more