Latest news with #transportation
Reuters
an hour ago
- Business
- Reuters
Russian flag carrier Aeroflot reports adjusted net loss in Q1
May 30 (Reuters) - Russian flag carrier Aeroflot ( opens new tab on Friday reported an adjusted net loss of 3.4 billion roubles ($43.31 million) in the first quarter of 2025, down from net profit of more than 6 billion roubles in the same period a year ago. Revenues for the quarter rose 9.6% year-on-year to 190.2 billion roubles and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 17.4% to 49 billion roubles, Aeroflot said. Aeroflot said its profits had been adjusted by exchange rate revaluations. ($1 = 78.5000 roubles)
WIRED
2 hours ago
- Health
- WIRED
Can't Afford an Ebike? Borrow One for Free From a Lending Library
Michael Venutolo-Mantovani May 30, 2025 6:30 AM Programs that let people borrow an ebike for a few days at a time are blooming around the US. They're convenient for all, but they also provide free transport for those priced out of bike ownership. Photograph:All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. An ebike library is exactly what it sounds like: a place where people can borrow electric bikes for free for, in some instances, as long as a week. And lately, thanks to the growing popularity of ebikes, these lending libraries have begun to sprout up around America. According to some experts, ebike libraries serve two purposes: to expose potential buyers to the advantages of ebikes through a real-world test ride and to provide access to free transportation in or near lower-income communities. There are approximately 50 ebike libraries around the US, a number that has nearly doubled since 2022. Many of them are housed in local bike shops, though some are connected to traditional book-lending libraries. In many ways, ebikes have made cycling more accessible than ever. Their electric motors flatten hilly areas, where biking can be strenuous, allowing anyone who knows how to ride a bike to climb almost any hill. They enable easier commutes and around-town errands more than traditional bikes. They lighten the load of towing kids around, whether to school or simply for recreation. They ease the weight of a bike loaded with two or three or four bags of groceries. Because of this, ebikes have exploded in popularity over the past few years. According to a 2023 study published by the US Department of Energy, ebike sales in the US grew fourfold from 2018 to 2022, from 287,000 to over 1.1 million. By 2024, that number doubled, with around 2.05 million electric bikes sold in America. On a recent trip to New York City—where I visit often and almost exclusively travel via the city's CitiBike bikeshare program—though traditional CitiBikes were plentiful, the models with electric pedal-assist motors were almost always all spoken for. Even though ebikes have gotten cheaper in recent years, the price remains a major barrier of entry. The cheapest reliable ebike you can find is the Aventon Soltera.2, which will set you back around $1,100. If you want something with additional seating to haul your children around, you're looking at the Lectric XPedition 2.0, which costs about $1,400. Prices can easily climb into the mid-five-figure range, while some high-end ebikes retail in excess of $10,000. Where ebikes have given people more options when it comes to pedal-powered transportation, ebike libraries have made access more equitable. The scope, scale, and function of these libraries vary from city to city. For example, Montpelier, Vermont's library loans bikes by the week, from Saturday to Saturday. Farther south, in the Vermont town of Brattleboro, residents can borrow one of three ebikes for six days, checking them out on Fridays and returning them the following Wednesdays, allowing the library to charge the battery and make any necessary repairs on Thursdays. In California, residents of the city of Elk Grove can borrow ebikes from the lending library for as long as three weeks. One trend that seems to be growing in newer libraries is the idea of short-term loans, which can better facilitate usage for running errands or even taking a recreational spin around town. Madison, Wisconsin's ebike library has been one of the most robust in America over the past few years. Known as the Community Pass Program, it offers free usage of the city's Madison BCycle ebike-sharing program through the city's libraries. Unlike CitiBike, Washington, DC's Capital Bikeshare, or Chicago's Divvy, all of which require a credit-card-linked account for use, a Bcycle can be unlocked with a fob obtained for free at any of the city's nine library branches. All you need is a Madison library card. The fobs can be checked out for as long as a week. (The program is currently on hold through the summer while it undergoes program updates.) While Madison's library—and therefore its residents' access to BCycles—spans much of the city, several cities are strategically placing their ebike libraries in or near lower-income communities, offering a free means of transportation to people who might struggle otherwise with a bikeshare program or who are less likely to own a car. 'It costs a minimum of $8,000 a year to own and operate a car in our country,' says Arleigh Greenwald, a former bike shop owner and YouTube influencer focused on ebike travel. 'And if it's not required to own a car in order to live where you live, you've now made a person's annual cost of living so much less. If you require someone to drive to get to an affordable housing unit, it's no longer affordable.' Meanwhile, the town of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, has a lending library connected to a progressive halfway house called Tomorrow's Neighbors. The library provides any of its 20 ebikes for its temporary residents who might be commuting to jobs, looking for work, or simply in need of exercise or recreation. 'In that case, not only is it addressing a transportation need but it's helping reduce recidivism,' says Michael Galligano, CEO of Shared Mobility, national nonprofit based in Buffalo, New York, that aims to make transportation easier and more equitable. Smaller cities and towns simply may not have the funds, the initiative, or the interest to install a citywide network of bike-sharing options. 'Having free access to ebikes is not a hard sell,' Galligano says. 'But where the rubber meets the pavement is the community helping to organize these programs' Some places have welcomed dock-free bikeshare companies such as Lime, but those cost a fee to unlock then the user is charged each minute they're riding In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a fleet of 100 Tar Heel Bikes—which are provided by Lime competitor Bird—can be found around the town and throughout the campus at UNC–Chapel Hill. However, those cost $1 to unlock plus 29 cents each minute they're ridden. On the other hand, the town of Chapel Hill recently announced a free ebike library, which is housed in a pair of local bike shops and is operated by town officials. According to the official announcement, the program was funded through a $129,010 grant from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, along with an additional $50,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act. Through that library, town residents aged 18 and older can borrow a standard ebike, a cargo ebike, or an electric tricycle for as little as a few hours and as long as a week. Users are also provided with a combination lock, a charging cable, and a helmet. 'Most of them have been two- to three-day rentals,' says Brian Van Cleve, a longtime staffer at Trek Chapel Hill, which, along with local shop The Bicycle Chain, is participating in the library. 'People who are interested in buying an ebike want more than a 20-minute test ride. But we've had someone here who needed a bike because they were working Doordash.' As ebikes continue to grow in popularity, the appetite for ebike libraries is expanding in concert. Galligano pointed out that Shared Mobility fields calls every week from municipalities around the US, all interested in starting an ebike library. 'These programs are launching all over the place, because cities see a need for equitable and affordable transportation,' Galligano says. 'And yeah, there's an environmental impact, there's a health impact, yeah there's a transportation impact. But there's a mental impact, too. You have to see people's faces sometimes. It's the first time they've been on a bike in years, and you can see how happy they are just being able to bike.'
The Independent
2 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
‘I was punched in the face, spat at and racially abused for challenging a Tube fare dodger'
Garthfeild Whyte has been punched, spat at and racially abused - all in the line of his work that is only getting more dangerous. Violence, aggression and anti-social behaviour have become a typical part of his job patrolling London's Tube network on the hunt for fare evaders. The 47-year-old is a Transport Support Enforcement Officer at Transport for London (TfL) and can recall several incidents where fare dodgers have lashed out after being questioned, putting his safety at risk. Mr Whyte is not alone - more than 800 reports of physical incidents were made by TfL staff over the past year. This figure balloons when verbal aggression is included, with more than 10,490 reports of work-related violence and aggression made by TfL workers in 2023/24 - a 5 per cent increase on the previous year. About half of these incidents were triggered by approaching fare evaders. Mr Whyte was grabbed by a passenger who tried to fare dodge at Tottenham Court Road earlier this month. 'He came through the gate behind one of his friends, and I tried to engage by sticking up my arm, which is a non-aggression approach,' Mr Whyte said, recalling the incident. 'He just immediately grabbed me up and tried to intimidate me, trying to prove his point to say that he's a strong man and he can handle me,' he added. Mr Whyte and his colleagues managed to de-escalate the situation and tried to take the man's details. The police were called, and the man was arrested. During a separate incident in Stratford last year, a person shouted racial abuse that left him 'trembling', and even talking about it 'brings back that trauma', he said. In another incident in May last year, Mr Whyte was again the victim of racist abuse, punched in the face and spat at by a man at Finsbury Park station who did not have a ticket. 'He was racial and was making passing remarks in regard to my sister. My sister died three years ago, so that brought up some more trauma,' Mr Whyte explained. However, he managed to get a swab of his spit and took it to the police station. They found the attackers' DNA and discovered he was also wanted for a robbery, which happened a couple of days before. Often, there is no specific reason for aggression towards station staff other than being stopped for fare evasion. 'We don't know the reason or what is triggering the aggression, it could be some psychological stuff or maybe it could be the weather, economical or private stuff at home, it could be anything,' Mr Whyte explained. 'Once you disrupt their livelihood or their day-to-day activities, you are going to be at fault,' he added. He admitted that when he first started the job almost five years ago, he used to fear approaching people in case someone was carrying a knife. 'I used to have that fear, but not anymore because you need to engage to be able to get a response, and you are trained how to respond,' he said. 'But new starters especially have that fear,' he added. Over the past year, more than 480 bladed weapons, such as a knife, have been confiscated by the British Transport Police, who work alongside Mr Whyte and his colleagues. He recalled one incident last year at Seven Sisters station, where a man was seen reaching for something, which staff assumed was a weapon. 'We approached him, and he became violent and reached for something in his bag and because we didn't know what it was, we had to physically restrain him,' he said. 'In that instance, I was really fearful for myself and my colleagues getting hurt,' he explained. Mr Whyte explained that 'getting hands-on is a last resort' and if it is not safe, he does not approach people.
Malay Mail
3 hours ago
- General
- Malay Mail
Land Public Transport Agency revokes lorry firm's licence over Teluk Intan crash that killed nine FRU personnel
PUTRAJAYA, May 30 — The Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) has revoked the licence of the operator of the stone-laden lorry company involved in an accident that claimed the lives of nine Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel on Jalan Chikus-Sungai Lampam, Teluk Intan, on May 13. The revocation of Tashveen Trading's operator license is effective May 29, 2025. 'With the revocation of the operator's license, the company is not permitted to operate or provide any services using any vehicles licensed under that operator's license,' APAD stated in a press release today. APAD's investigation also found that the company failed to comply with the Industrial Code of Practice (ICOP) safety requirements, failed to ensure the Global Positioning System (GPS) was functional and had expired, was carrying loads that violated the type of goods specified in the vehicle's permit, and did not prioritize the safety of other road users. APAD wants to emphasize its stance that it will never compromise on any dangerous driving offences by public land transport vehicles that cause accidents and can threaten the safety of road users. 'APAD also wishes to advise all licensed operators to comply with the license conditions set from time to time to avoid undesirable incidents, which could then lead to license revocation,' APAD said. In the incident at 8.50am on May 13, an FRU lorry carrying 18 personnel from Unit 5, based in Sungai Senam, Ipoh, was involved in a collision with a stone-laden lorry while on its way back after completing duties for the Chitrapournami celebration in Teluk Intan. The accident also resulted in two serious injuries and seven other injuries. — Bernama
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
Glass window on MTR train cracks on Kwun Tong line, prompting passengers to alight
A glass panel of a window on a train travelling on the MTR's Kwun Tong line cracked on Thursday night, prompting shocked passengers to disembark at Lok Fu station. Advertisement The MTR said on Friday that it would investigate the cause of the incident, saying no injuries were reported due to the window's double-glazed safety glass design. The rail operator said the incident happened at around 7.30pm on Thursday as the train was approaching Lok Fu station and the captain was alerted by passengers to the cracked window in one of the carriages. 'Since the window is made of double-layered safety glass with an interlayer which prevents shards of glass from flowing, no passengers were affected,' the MTR said in a statement. 'As a precautionary measure, the Operations Control Centre arranged for all passengers to alight at Lok Fu station and transfer to the next available train to continue their journey.' Advertisement The rail giant said the affected train had been taken out of service and sent back to the depot for a thorough inspection and follow-up.
