What are alternative modes of transport. But not on foot: exotic alternative modes of transport from Kickstarter

Transport is an integral part of modern life, especially in the frantic urban rhythm. It is not surprising that, along with the usual public modes of transport, cars, taxis and bicycles, alternative means of transportation of a wide variety of designs and principles of operation began to appear. With the popularization of crowdfunding platforms inventors were given the opportunity to bring their ideas to life. Now Kickstarter is replete with similar devices, but we’ll get to know you interesting projects that have ever been funded on Kickstarter.

CMYK folding electric bike

The CMYK electric bike was funded back in 2012, and now has version 3.0, although dramatic changes Compared to the first one, there is none here. This is a fairly miniature bicycle with 14-inch wheels, disc brakes and an aluminum alloy frame, weighing 11.3 kg. The steering wheel, pedals and seat fold for transport and storage.

The bike uses a 250-watt electric motor that is powered by a lithium-ion battery. Charging time from a power outlet is about 2 hours, the charge lasts for 50-60 minutes of driving. Maximum speed - 20 km/h.

Riide

Another successfully funded e-bike is the Riide. There was no folding design here; this bike is more suitable for pleasure trips. The frame is made of aluminum alloy, the weight is about 16 kg, which is quite good, considering the presence of an electric motor and a battery for it. Wheel diameter is 26 inches. A 160 mm disc brake is used, and part of the energy during braking is returned to the battery (recuperation).

The bike is powered by a 350-watt motor or pedals. The maximum speed is 32 km/h, and a full battery charge lasts for 32–40 km (when driving solely using the electric motor). Charging time is about 2-3 hours.

Verrado Electric Drift Trike

The next miracle of engineering is more reminiscent of a hybrid of a bicycle and a go-kart. Of course, with an electric motor. The Verrado Electric Drift Trike has three wheels: a 20-inch front wheel with a brushless motor and two small rear wheels. The vehicle is aimed more at performing all sorts of pirouettes on the asphalt than at moving around the city.

Charging takes about 3 hours, which is enough for 45 minutes (or about 20 km) figure skating and drifting. Front wheel It is mounted on a BMX fork, and the rear wheels are 5-inch wheels with 10-inch kart tires, on top of which there are PVC “covers” for better gliding.

ProGo

The vast majority of these Vehicle equipped with electric motors. They are environmentally friendly, but also have a number of disadvantages, such as short battery life and long recharging times. The ProGo scooter is equipped with a propane engine, which is significantly less harmful to the environment than gasoline.

The four-stroke engine has a volume of 25 cubic cm, one refill (464 g of propane) is enough for 50-65 km or 2-3 hours of driving. Maximum speed is about 32 km/h. The scooter uses 8-inch wheels and disc brakes, the design can support up to 125 kg with a weight of about 16. The handlebar can be folded for storage and carrying.

ACTON M Scooter

The creators of the electric skates ACTON R RocketSkates, which we wrote about recently, are not for the first time on Kickstarter. Previously, they successfully raised the necessary amount for a three-wheeled electric scooter-designer ACTON M Scooter. The design allows the scooter to be folded for transportation to a size that will fit in the trunk of a car. The weight is 31 kg, while the “carrying capacity” is 136 kg, so a small guy with his girlfriend (or two girls) can ride with ease.

Charging time is 2 hours (from charger) and 4 hours from the outlet. The maximum speed is about 20 km/h, and the travel range is 24 km.

Onewheel

A separate topic is single-wheel vehicles with an automatic balancing system. Their number and variety are also growing. For example, something vaguely reminiscent of a skateboard with one wide wheel in a hole in the middle of the board, called Onewheel. In addition to the electric motor and battery, there is auto balancing system with accelerometer, gyroscope and microcontroller. The controls are quite intuitive: to move or turn, you need to tilt the Onewheel in the desired direction.

Electric motor power - 500 W, maximum speed- 20 km/h. They promise 2 hours of riding on one battery charge. Charging time is 2 hours from a standard charger and 20 minutes from a proprietary fast charger. There's a companion app for Android and iOS that lets you track routes, limit top speed, and more.

Urban Glider

The next miracle of technology is called Urban Glider and also has only one wheel and an auto-balancing system, but this time the legs are placed on folding platforms on the sides of it. Such devices are already being made by brave Chinese engineers. IN Urban Glider has a 16-inch wheel and folding footrests and handle for easy transportation. Weight - 11 kg.

The characteristics of the electric motor are quite standard: maximum speed - 20 km/h, range - 30-35 km, and charging time - 2 hours.

Gnarboards

Skateboards of various shapes and sizes have become popular again and the emergence of electric options is quite logical. There are also many variations of them. Gnarboards are the harshest of them all. Although they can rather be attributed to the so-called “Mountainboards”: they use large wheels for driving over rough terrain, metal structures and powerful electric motors.

Three model options are available: the simplest two-wheel drive version is equipped with an electric motor with a rated power of 1.4 kW and a peak power of 7.2 kW. Accelerates to 45 km/h in 3 seconds and has a range of up to 34 km. The remaining two models are all-wheel drive, the most powerful is equipped with a 3.4 kW electric motor (16.5 kW peak), accelerates to 45 km/h in 1.9 s and has a range of 24 km. Controlled by wired remote control.

Marbel

Marbel is the lightest electric skateboard (at least for now). It weighs only 4.5 kg, and carbon fiber and Kevlar were chosen for lightweight construction. To limit speed, control acceleration, track position and charge level, use a hand-held remote control or a mobile application for Android or iOS. The maximum speed is about 40 km/h, and the range is about 16 km.

The relatively short driving distance on a single charge was due to the desire to make the skateboard as light as possible. A full charge takes about one and a half hours.

LEIF

The developer is a snowboarding enthusiast who doesn't want to wait until next winter to do what he loves. At first glance, the device has a conventional design. In fact, the four side wheels play a balancing role. The driving wheels are two more, which are located along with brushless electric motors on rotating platforms on the bottom of the LEIF. Thanks to this design, an imitation of sliding on turns is created and the ability to drive in all four directions.

The motor power is 200 W, the maximum speed is about 32 km/h. One charge is enough for 13 km of travel, and the batteries can be recharged in an hour. It is controlled by a LEIF wireless remote control and weighs 6.8 kg.

The era of suborbital tourist flights is coming - practically this is a trip into space with all that it entails, a feeling of weightlessness, a view of the Earth from a round window and strong overloads, but without fixation in low-Earth orbit. A suborbital aircraft takes off from a launch vehicle. Then it accelerates to a speed of approximately 4000 km/h and halfway through the journey it goes without an engine using residual thrust. Having reached approximately 100–200 km above the Earth, the launched core begins to fall along a ballistic curve, at which point passengers feel weightlessness, but not for long, only about 5 minutes. Entering the troposphere, the spacecraft begins to glide and lands on the runway, like a regular airplane.

The first suborbital flight was made by the experimental X-15 rocket plane, designed back in the 1950s in the United States. This ship was intended only for the US Air Force. Several private companies are currently developing suborbital aircraft. Russia also decided to keep up with this scientific and commercial trend, and now NPO Molniya is developing a suborbital space system based on the M-55 Geophysics high-altitude aircraft.

Speed

The maximum is about 4000 km/h, however, taking into account the fact that spaceships are intended mainly for tourism, it is not yet possible to use this speed to quickly fly from Russia to the USA.

Capacity

Depending on the spacecraft model, from 4 to 14 people.

When to expect

Flights with regular passengers could begin in two to three years.

02. Wheels, gyroscope and nothing more

“It’s something between slippers and a bicycle,” is what Dean Kamen calls his invention, the Segway electric scooter. The development appeared in stores already in 2002 and quickly became popular. Now this type of environmentally friendly and convenient transport is used not only by ordinary citizens, but also by various public services For example, most American postmen deliver parcels and letters to addresses on Segways; in several cities in Germany such a scooter is a mandatory attribute of a police officer. Recently, inventor Shane Chen decided to improve the Segway and created a similar, but only more compact vehicle, a unicycle, or solowheel. According to the principle of operation, it is the same as an electric scooter, it is set in motion without any buttons and operates on the basis of a gyroscope and sensors that continuously evaluate the displacement of the center of gravity, that is, any movements of the user. If you lean forward, the scooter will go straight, if you lean slightly to the side, it will turn. You can carry this scooter with you everywhere.

Speed

Approximately 20 km/h.

Capacity b

Both the Segway and the unicycle are designed for an individual user; balancing on them together will most likely not work, unless, of course, you are a couple of synchronized swimmers.

When to expect

Already now, all pedestrians in the world are gradually switching to these electric scooters.

03. Real SUV

A vehicle capable of moving at high speed through water, ice, snow, land and air is an ekranolet, a direct descendant of the ekranoplan, a hybrid dynamic hovercraft. The ekranolet is better than its predecessor in that it is able to hover not only over a flat surface, but also rise up, overcoming even the most impassable routes.

The first hybrid hovercraft was invented back in 1937 by Soviet engineer Vladimir Levkov. Later, having understood all the advantages of this type of transport, they began to modify it and use the latest developments in China and Korea, and began to build large and capacious modern ground effect vehicles, on which you can very quickly move from one Asian country to another. So far, such a system of passenger transportation has not been perfectly established, but ekranoplanes are excellently used there for water tourism.

Russia took this transport seriously in the late 1990s; the Sukhoi Design Bureau even created a multi-seat modern ekranolet S-90, but the general public never saw it. Perhaps the ship is being finalized after testing, and someday we will be able to quickly travel from the central part of Russia to its remote regions, for example, to Siberia or the Far East, on an all-terrain aircraft.

Speed

The ekranolet is slower than a passenger airliner by about half, its speed is about 400–450 km/h.

Capacity

The largest vessel has a capacity of 50 seats.

When to expect

In Asia or the United Arab Emirates, where ground effect vehicles are supplied from China, you can already find these aircraft-like winged vessels and ride them near the coast.

04. Levitating train

The fastest form of land transport is the magnetic levitation train. However, it would be more correct to say overground, because the train does not move, but flies a few millimeters above the monorail. That's why they call it Maglev - magnetic levitation. They started thinking about such trains a hundred years ago, and the first working maglevs were built in the 1980s in England and Germany.

But the only maglev that today plays the role not of an attraction, but of a full-fledged means public transport, operates in Shanghai, connecting the city to the airport and covering 30 km in 7 and a half minutes. For now, Maglev remains the transport of the future - environmentally friendly, ultra-fast, cheap to use and safe. But building the infrastructure for it is not at all cheap. Now roads for them are being built in Japan and South Korea, and they are planning to create them in other countries, including Russia. If such a route were built from Moscow to Vladivostok, the trip would take less than a day.

Speed

Today, the fastest Maglev is Japanese, which was tested in 2003 in Yamanashi Prefecture. record speed, 581 km/h. For now he carries the lucky few.

Capacity

Hundreds of people. This is a train, and, as in any train, the number of passengers can vary depending on the number of cars.

When to expect

The longest route currently under construction, from Tokyo to Osaka, is scheduled to be completed in 2027.

05. Drivers are an anachronism

It seems that it is already becoming a banality that the vehicles of the future do not need a driver; they will move with the help of optical sensors, “smart roads”, radar, and most importantly, artificial intelligence. According to The Economist magazine, 90% of road accidents are caused by human error. This statistic sounds like a death sentence for human drivers.

Planes, ships and cars are gradually gaining autonomy. For a good car, parking autopilot, cruise control, and the ability to warn the driver about danger have already become the norm. Tesla is actively developing them. General Motors and other auto giants. But Google is ahead of everyone - a dozen unmanned Priuses, brought to an independent mind in the secret GoogleX laboratories, have been driving around the roads of California for several years now. Google plans to release own car. The company invested $250 million in the service Taxi Uber, which it plans to equip with its own drones.

Speed

The autopilot knows better.

Capacity

When to expect

Mass production of fully autonomous cars is expected sometime around 2020.

06. Jet power on the shoulders

How wonderful it would be to travel with the help of an air backpack - no traffic jams, no crowds! Work on the creation of such an individual means of transportation began back in the 1950s, when scientist Wendell Moore created the Bell Rocket Belt backpack.

However, Moore’s case did not go beyond the not very successful tests. And despite the fact that they have been working on the creation of this flying transport for quite a long time, so far in no country in the world can you see a flock of office workers flying on aero backpacks. Although quite viable prototypes of the device exist and are constantly being improved.

There are two main developments: this is a jet backpack from the American company Tecaerome, which can so far hover in the air for only 40 seconds, and another, the most successful project, a jetpack from New Zealand engineer Glenn Martin called Martin Jetpack. Martin began working on it back in the 1990s and during the first test flight he invited his wife to become a test pilot; she did not refuse. In a large hangar, the scientist secured the backpack to a high pole so that it could move strictly along the axis up and down, without flying to the sides or above the pole, and fastened his wife to the invention. The backpack still flew up, but only a couple of meters. Everything went well, the wife was not injured.

Speed

Now such backpacks fly at a speed of 60 km/h, which is quite comparable to a car in the city. But the developers plan to speed up the backpack to 100 km/h.

Capacity

The air backpack is designed for one person. But if you fly through a burning building and a beautiful girl falls out of the window, you can allow yourself to play the role of Superman and save her: the backpack will support two adults of average weight.

When to expect

Backpacks will be available to a wide range of users around 2018.

07. Pneumatic mail for sending people

Hyperloop is another project of Elon Musk, who called the “Hyperloop” the fifth mode of transport (the other four are water, air, road and rail). The project was introduced in 2012 as an alternative to high-speed train service between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The “hyperloop” is a system of pipelines with a diameter of 2.2 meters placed on trestles, in which very low pressure is maintained. Capsules move through the pipelines, hovering at a short distance from the bottom of the pipe due to the pumping of air into the gap and aerodynamics. This is similar to a giant pneumatic mail sleeve, only containers with people or cargo will be sent through it. Accelerated by an electromagnetic pulse through the pipe, they will be able to cover 600 km in half an hour - faster than an airplane. The energy for the new type of transport will be provided by solar panels. The project has one problem - Musk himself has no time to implement it; someone needs to take on it.

Speed

Capacity

The dimensions of the Hyperloop containers allow you to transport up to 28 people.

When to expect

No one has yet started implementing Hyperloop, but if you start, nothing will stop you from completing the project in a few years.

08. Vertical take-off car

It's a rare science fiction film or book without flying cars. But when will they become a reality? It turns out that work on the air car is in full swing, and one of the most promising projects is being created by the Industrial Design Center of Vladimir Pirozhkov, who built the Citroen C3, C4, C5, Toyota Auris, Toyota Avensis, Toyota iQ. No matter how hard it is to believe, approximately every twentieth car on the roads of the world is the work of Pirozhkov’s intellect and hands. Who, if not him, should create a car with vertical take-off? “At some point I realized: another traditional car project is just another place in a traffic jam,” admits Pirozhkov. He calls his dream a 3D car, because it moves in three dimensions. Now Pirozhkov is assembling a prototype of a 3D mobile on a scale of 1:4.

Speed

Like a light aircraft, 200–400 km/h.

Capacity

Like a car.

When to expect

In twenty years.

09. Surfing in the air

A flying skateboard or hoverboard is an old dream of carefree teenagers and serious and smart inventors. In the early 2000s, there was simply a boom in the development of hoverboards; Western engineers produced a new model every year. But all this turned out to be a profanation, because such supposedly levitating boards were designed on the principle of a hovercraft, where powerful pumps were used as a holding mechanism in the air to collect fallen leaves. The first device, similar to a flying skate, like the main character Marty McFly from the film “Back to the Future 2,” was presented in 2011 by the French. Their board, called MagSurf, uses the Meissner effect - where a magnet is repelled by a cooled superconductor and levitates - to float in the air. During testing, this skate actually rose into the air, albeit to a small height, only 3 cm. It could fly exclusively over superconducting steel rails. Another development that operates on the same principle is the HENDO hoverboard. It also flies low, the battery charge is only enough for 8 minutes of flight, and this thing can only hover over a metal surface.

Speed

A fairly nimble vehicle that accelerates to 40 km/h.

Capacity

One or two people. Hoverboards from both manufacturers can withstand up to 100 kg.

When to expect

While such a thing won’t go far, and you can’t call it a full-fledged transport, it’s just an attraction. Although in five years the developers promise to present to the world a skateboard that will fly everywhere, and not just over metal surfaces.

10. Goodbye gasoline

Until recently, people tried to make an electric car that was at least somehow approaching gasoline cars, there was no talk of competition. A revolution has taken place before our eyes - the Tesla Model S electric car, created by Elon Musk, is called the best car peace. This luxury sedan accelerates to 100 kilometers per hour in 4 seconds, surpasses all gasoline cars in ergonomics and safety, and sells better than the gasoline models of the former kings of the car market.

Musk's next car, the Tesla Model D, is on the way, and meanwhile the world is becoming covered in a network of charging stations for electric vehicles that draw their energy from the sun. “I believe all modes of transportation should go electric,” Musk says as he contemplates an electric plane. After all, even if you burn gas at thermal power plants and convert this energy into electricity, its use in an electric car gives the output approximately sixty percent efficiency of gas energy. And when you burn fuel in a car engine, the efficiency is only 20%. No one has extra gas, the planet’s resources must be protected, so the cars of the future will have to be charged from the electrical network.

Speed

The maximum speed of Tesla Model D is 249 km/h.

Capacity

When to expect

Musk plans to release a budget electric car in 2017, but in Russia there is still a problem with the network of charging stations.

Photo: Mark Greenberg/Zuma Press/Global Look Press; Inventist.com/Ferrari Press/East News; Grigory Sysoev/TASS; Toru Yamanaka/AFP/East News; Dominic Wilcox/Exclusivepix/East News; Martin Aircraft Company Limited, EyePress News/AFP/East News; from the personal archive of V. Pirozhkov; Hendo; Nancy Pastor/Polaris/East News

Moscow ranks first in Europe for traffic congestion. Residents of the capital waste 92 hours of their time annually in traffic jams. But it can be used for something more useful. Therefore, today there are many alternative ways to get around the city. We have selected the 5 most popular products with which you can easily save both time and money on gasoline.

1. Longboard

It is no coincidence that the longboard is at the top of our selection. This is one of the types of roller boards. It is more stable due to its elongated shape, wide deck surface and special soft wheels. A longboard means no exhaust fumes, no traffic jams, no waste on gasoline. Longboards are less often used for tricks, jumping and sliding, because such boards are more of a means of transportation. There is a special name for a leisurely walk - cruising. And for him there is a separate type of longboards - cruisers, the most popular models in the world. They are easy to learn the basics of riding, and good maneuverability will allow even beginners to ride around the park with ease, without scaring passers-by. Such boards are convenient and compact and can easily fit into the trunk of a car, will not crowd out passengers in a subway car, and weigh very little. Big choice We found longboards in Ridestep - the first online store of custom longboards in Russia. Here you can assemble your own board and even create a design yourself. Free shipping- a nice bonus for your order. View the assortment →

2. Electric skate

Using the inertia of your body is convenient and effective when moving short distances. But the higher the mileage, the higher the likelihood of getting to work sweaty and dirty. To start your morning in a more pleasant way, try an electric skateboard. This is a board with an electric motor. You can control it using the remote control. The speed in some models exceeds 40 km/h, and the distance that can be traveled on one charge reaches 50 km. Mobility distinguishes an electric skate from other electronic means of transportation. With it, you don’t need to look for a parking space or try to get around a difficult obstacle: in any unclear situation, pick it up, and the problem is solved. Learning to ride will take no more than 2 hours, and you will save much more in just a week. At Evolve, electric skates are made from lightweight and high-strength alloys so that they are comfortable in your hands. Company founder Jeff Anning own experience I selected all the components in order to ultimately design an ergonomic and comfortable board. With such a vehicle, you will not only quickly get to work, but you will also be able to train your balance and equilibrium skills every day. Buy an electric skate →

3. Monocycle

No, this is not what bears ride on in circuses. But it's very similar. And if they were able to keep their balance on one wheel, then so can you. A monocycle is a one-wheeled vehicle for getting around the city. Its speed is inferior to an electric skateboard, since it requires more effort to maintain balance. Consequently, speeds exceeding 25 km/h become unsafe. But with the help of a monocycle you can easily maneuver between slowly walking passers-by and overtake cars stuck in traffic jams. Select a unicycle→

In English, the name of this device translates as “smooth path.” Its feature is a self-balancing mechanism. The system reacts to your movements and adapts to them. At the same time, no special skills are required to operate a Segway. Therefore it is suitable for all ages and levels physical training. True, the price is comparable to domestic car, makes this type of transport not so popular. Select Segway →

5. Scruiser

Combines the advantages of a scooter and a scooter. Therefore, you can ride it both sitting and standing. It is not afraid of our asphalt: wide wheels calmly drive through holes and potholes. On average, the design allows you to transport up to two people at a time. Therefore, in addition to commuting to work, you can arrange mini-trips with your girlfriend. Select a scruiser →

Gone are the days of big cars with big engines that burn huge amounts of fuel. Compact and economical modes of transport are now in fashion, some of which can even be carried with you in a backpack. And today we will talk about 7 of the most memorable miniature vehicles.

What else can you use to get around the city, besides a personal car and public transport? Bicycle, motorcycle, roller skates, of course, come to mind first. But it turns out that even without them, there are many vehicles that can (at least to some extent) replace a personal car and bus.

The so-called “alternative vehicles” are mostly two-wheeled, roofless, easy to use and completely environmentally friendly. Find out what kind of replacement the car is growing up in in our review.

SCOOTER

A simple vehicle with two wheels, which is traditionally considered very childish, may well be suitable for adults who want to find their own original way of moving around the city. In fact, at first glance, a scooter has only one benefit: it will increase the speed of movement, provide physical exercise, and avoid the ubiquitous traffic jams. In addition, folding scooters with a belt that you can carry with you have long been invented, especially for adults.

There are now a great many types of scooters - some are only suitable for walking through parks and alleys, others are equipped with fairly thick wheels that can cope with city potholes. There are also so-called “kickbikes” - something like an “under-bicycle” and very reminiscent of those very colorful bicycles of the past with two wheels: a very large and a very small one. And this, by the way, is an absolutely “adult” type of two-wheeled transport.

It’s easier to control a scooter: just push off and go, just watch your balance. But you can’t really travel around the city center with it: the sidewalks are teeming with pedestrians, and it’s scary to even think about leaving the roadway. But if your route to work runs along quiet streets or shady alleys and you are not burdened with worries about what others think, then a scooter as a means of transportation is quite suitable for you. True, only in dry weather.

SCOOTER

A scooter is one of the most popular types of transport among both children and adults of all ages. The two-wheeled iron “pony,” the prototype of which was created at the beginning of the 20th century, has long been a favorite of residents of European countries and Southeast Asian countries (in the latter, according to experienced tourists, the streets are simply teeming with people on scooters).

Russia recognized the advantages of this type of transport not so long ago, although they are obvious: a scooter makes it possible to move around the city quite quickly, moreover, in a comfortable sitting position, allows you to avoid city traffic jams and, at the same time, is easy to operate, having an automatic transmission. In addition, a small scooter (with an engine up to 50 cc) does not need to be registered with the traffic police. Actually, this is why the scooter is so popular among teenagers. However, Russian legislation is still silent about the rights and responsibilities of scooter drivers, and therefore a lot of controversial issues will inevitably arise if you decide to acquire such a two-wheeled “friend.”

A “balanced two-wheel scooter” or “scooter for adults” is the name given to an increasingly popular vehicle called the Segway. The creator of the miracle machine on two wheels was the American Dean Kaman, who was previously distinguished by his special ingenuity.

The name comes from English. the words segway - “follow, move.” Operating a Segway is simple: the driver is provided with balance by two wheels on the sides of the platform, on which you need to stand with both feet. To start moving, you need to lean forward a little, to stop, accordingly, lean back. When tilted left or right, the Segway turns in the desired direction. This way you can reach speeds of up to 20 km/h.

In some states of the USA (and in a number of other countries), this type of transport has found its use - police officers and postmen travel on it, but in Europe the Segway was at one time banned, explaining its high unsafety. By the way, the owner of the Segway company, Jimi Haselden, died while riding a Segway: he lost control and fell off a cliff into the river.

In any case, a Segway is quite an expensive pleasure: from 90 thousand for one such cart and more. But today Segways can be found in large cities of our country - enterprising “private owners” offer rides to leisurely revelers.

DELTAKAT

A new type of transport, very similar to the American Segway, was invented not just anywhere, but in our glorious Tomsk. The invention of Tomsk resident Vladimir Kovalev glorified the city and himself throughout Russia. The cart, called a delta skate, is a hybrid between a skateboard and an electric scooter; weighs only 25 kg and runs on batteries. The principle of movement is the same as that of a Segway: the driver stands on the footrests and, balancing like on a skateboard, sets the direction of movement. The speed is controlled using the gas lever and can reach 25 km/h.

According to the creator himself, the invention was based on the notorious desire to somehow avoid city traffic jams. The Tomsk resident made the first copy from what he had: parts of curtains, an electric motor, metal corners, large and small wheels.

In the summer of 2011, the Tomsk project was among the winners of the “Start” competition of the Bortnik Foundation and could count on funding to complete the stage of research and development work. In fact, this work is currently underway.

VELOCAB

There are more and more environmentally friendly modes of transport that do not pollute the atmosphere. One of these new inventions is the bicycle cab or bicycle taxi. It was invented in Germany back in the 90s. The direct author of the idea is Stefan Buerkle.

The cab cab's cabin is open on the sides and shaped very much like an egg. The driver fits in the narrow part of this egg, the passengers, respectively, in the wide one. The bicycle cab is equipped with an electric motor, which allows it to move. In addition, each velomobile is equipped on-board computer And sound signal, headlights, rearview mirrors, rear lights turn indicators, brake lights, disc brake system... In general, everything that a decent taxi should have.

It is unlikely that there will be anyone who wants to acquire such a machine for their own use, but as a recreational vehicle, a bicycle cab is much nicer than, say, the same cart with a horse.

RASTABIKE

Essentially, a rastabike is the same bicycle, with the only difference being that it has a more fancy appearance. The main thing that a rastabike has in common with a regular bicycle is the principle of movement. Here, too, you need to pedal with your feet to move forward.

Rastabiks are the name given to all those original designs that come out of the light hands of native Russian craftsmen. The soldered bicycle may end up with a completely unprecedented shape, but it will definitely work. In Moscow, there is even a community of lovers of converted bicycles - RASTABIKE (Russian Association of Homemade Transport Bicycles), which periodically delights the capital's residents and guests with enchanting rides on rastabikes of all colors and designs. There are big doubts how convenient this type of vehicle is, but it is spectacular, at least.

ELECTRIC BIKE

Another bike, already with the prefix “electro”, is again the same bike, but with an electric drive. However, you can also move the electric bike using pedals. Not much different from a classic bicycle, an electric bike is very suitable for all lovers of environmentally friendly transport. Electric bikes are usually equipped with 180W, 250W and 350W electric motors; from one fourth to one second horsepower.

This type of transport is very popular in China - there are almost five times more electric bikes than cars.

On September 22, all civilized countries celebrate World Car Free Day: motorists are encouraged to stop using fuel-consuming vehicles for at least a day. "Let World Day without a car (carfree) there will be a clear example of what our cities could look, feel and sound like without cars... 365 days a year!" - this is the slogan