University of Indonesia Designs, Launches Electric Car and Bus

Jakarta Globe, Amal Ganesha & Sarah Yuniarni, July 19, 2016

University of Indonesia's electric bus was shown at UI Engineering Center,
 Depok, West Java, on Monday (18/07). (Photo courtesy of University of Indonesia)

Jakarta. The University of Indonesia on Monday (18/07) launched four electric vehicles designed by campus engineers at the university's engineering center in Depok, West Java.

The launch featured a bus and three city cars, with one car named Makara, after the UI logo.

The bus has been tested and will be used on campus, replacing traditional buses, to transport students.

The Molina UI team of engineers have also researched the impact of electric cars on economic, social, cultural and legal aspects within the community. A solar-powered recharge station is also in the development stage to complement the cars.

"Soon, this electric bus will operates transporting students around the campus to support UI green campus vision," UI rector Muhammad Anis said in a statement received by the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday (19/07). "Considering that air pollution is already harming our society, this initiative is expected to push that issue."

"It also encourages students to master technology and not be dependable on the major car industry that has made Indonesia consumers."

Dutch lorry maker DAF fined €753m for cartel forming over 14 years

DutchNews, July 19, 2016

Photo: Alf van Beem via
Wikimedia Commons 

The European Commission has fined a group of truck manufacturers, including Dutch firm DAF, a total of €2.93bn for operating as an illegal cartel for 14 years. 

The commission said in a statement that MAN, Volvo/Renault, Daimler, Iveco, and DAF had broken EU antitrust rules by colluding on truck pricing and on passing on the costs of compliance with stricter emission rules. The cartel operated between 1997 and 2011, the commission said. 

Eindhoven-based DAF was given the second biggest fine of nearly €753m. 

MAN was not fined as it revealed the existence of the cartel to the Commission. All companies acknowledged their involvement in the cartel and agreed to settle the case.

‘It is not acceptable that MAN, Volvo/Renault, Daimler, Iveco and DAF, which together account for around nine out of every 10 medium and heavy trucks produced in Europe, were part of a cartel instead of competing with each other,’ competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. 

DAF has been part of American listed industrial group PACCAR since 1996.

Related Article:

EU fines truckmakers for 14-year cartel

Self-driving bus passes first road test

DutchNews, July 18, 2016

Driverless buses could be in
service by 2020.

Self-driving buses have been tested on the open road for the first time between Schiphol airport and Haarlem. 

The buses are equipped with 20 cameras that can react to traffic lights and programmed to travel in the middle of the road. A driver sits at the controls ready to step in if the automatic system fails, BNR reported. 

The goal is to have the first automatic buses in service by 2020. ‘I think it’s going to be a while before we can be driven around automatically in any kind of vehicle,’ said Edith Post, of the North Holland provincial assembly, at the official launch in Amsterdam. ‘But we think it’s important to make our roads accessible and carry out these kinds of tests.’

Paris bans old cars from streets in pollution crackdown

Yahoo – AFP, July 1, 2016

Authorities in Paris are making efforts to clean up the city's polluted air
(AFP Photo/Francois Guillot)

Paris (AFP) - Paris cracked down Friday on ageing polluting cars, with vehicles registered before 1997 no longer allowed on the streets from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm on weekdays.

Dozens of police were on duty to warn motorists that driving their old cars would soon land them with a fine of 35 euros ($39).

The move is a part of efforts by Paris city hall to clean up its air, which regularly violates EU norms and is estimated to cut six to eight months off the life expectancy of residents.

Cars older than 10 years are estimated to cause half of the city's air pollution.

A ban on thin plastic bags at checkout counters also went into force on Friday.

Related Article:

‘Delivery vans break pollution rules, emissions up to eight times higher’