TRAVEL: Britain gets a taste of the speedy life. Their first fully domestic high speed rail service opened yesterday. As the DailyMail reports, “A full timetable of the Japanese-built 140mph trains is now running from London to Kent, on sections of the High Speed one (HS1) Channel Tunnel rail link. But passengers have to pay more to use the super-fast trains, operated by the Southeastern train company, than those using the ‘normal’ services.” Click Read More for additional information.

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TRAVEL: Google proves again that it’s not your average company. In a move that goes beyond typical advertising, they’re offering free wi-fi to travelers at 47 participating airports from now until January 15, 2010. Well played Google.

As reported by MacWorld: “Google’s doing this to make the holiday travel crush a little easier. To that end, the company is working with Boingo, Advanced Wireless Group, Time Warner Cable, Electronic Media Systems, Lilypad, and other airport Wi-Fi providers to foot the bill for airport travelers. The search giant also struck a similar deal earlier this year with airline Virgin America to provide free Wi-Fi on its flights.” Click Read More for additional information.

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The New York Times has a fantastic list of hotels for under $150. From Amsterdam to Venice you can find great places to stay during those last minute jaunts across the Atlantic or Pacific. Generally, budget hotels are hit or miss, but with this list you’ll feel more confident about your bookings.

As the Times reports: “That’s the thing about budget hotels. Sometimes they turn out to be a disaster, leaving you to lie awake at night, fighting to go to sleep as you try to shut out the noise from the busy street just beyond your window and hoping you will get to morning without having inherited a family of bedbugs. And other times, they turn out to be diamonds in the rough, places you can’t wait to brag about to friends back home.” Click Read More for additional information.

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Today’s briefing includes varying ingredients from the travel world. The strange, useful and quirky are all there. Barcelona’s T1 Terminal looks fantastic; Air travelers will change airlines for wifi; Design Hotels outlines their top tech hotels for the geek in all of us; Honolulu seeks to fine bus riders with body odor (really?); and homeland security is taking a closer look at your hard drive.

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If you’re landing at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 you’ll likely come across their new driverless taxi system. We’ve posted about the Personal Rapid Transport in the past. Now it’s taken a significant step toward full implementation. With only 18 in operation, developers are hoping for a successful launch that’ll prompt full scale use.

The futuristic pods take up to four passengers from Terminal 5 to airport parking lots. Passengers simply enter their destination on the touch screen and they’re off. Fast Company recently wrote about the PRTs. They raise an interesting point. While the transportation system may provide an alternative to city-bound buses and trains, a large challenge to full scale implementation is cost. As they report, “BAA May be willing to shell out cash for a Heathrow System, but it’s doubtful that city governments will pay for the pods and new road networks for them to travel on.” Click Read More for additional information.

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In Vancouver cyclists have spawned an alternative to Critical Mass with a new gathering entitled Critical Manners. If you live in a major city, you’ve probably witnessed Critical Mass first hand. Generally occurring once a month, cyclists gather to ride through the city in a huge group with the purpose of spreading bike awareness and to bring attention to their daily challenges when sharing the road with apathetic automobiles. Despite peaceful intentions, it is disruptive, effects traffic flows and at times clashes with authorities. That’s where Critical Manners is different.

As reported by The Providence: “A new group, Critical Manners, has emerged after Friday’s controversial Critical Mass ride in Vancouver. The first Critical Manners Bike Ride will be on Aug. 14 in downtown Vancouver. According to organizer Jennifer Watkiss, the riders will stay in bike lanes and obey all traffic rules. ‘We ride Friday, Aug. 14, at 6 p.m. through the streets of Vancouver,’ Watkiss said on her website. ‘We’ll be easy to miss, since we’ll be staying in bike lanes or on the far right side of the road, obeying all traffic signals and otherwise doing our best to share the road effectively with all other vehicles and pedestrians.’” Overall, we’re interested to see how effective this will be versus Critical Mass. Click Read More for additional information.

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What’s in your bag? With so many folks carrying their own personal media for entertainment, airlines are shuffling to adjust. From traditional media to rapidly advancing tech, it’s increasingly difficult to hold the attention of passengers with a featured movie.

As Reuters reports: “Airlines around the world now spend millions of dollars annually upgrading their inflight entertainment systems, but iPods and other mobile entertainment gadgets could render all that useless. Besides bland airline food, one other certainty for most long-haul travelers flying in economy class has always been time passed with movies and games on a minuscule 5-inch screen provided by the airline. However, with USB ports and a power socket increasingly common even for economy class passengers on carriers such as Singapore Airlines Ltd and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, the concept of in-flight entertainment could change.” Click Read More for additional information.

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