image via Popular MechanicsWhen Science Fiction looked at transportation of the future the vision most often included monorails, flying cars, or even disintegration/reintegration (“Beam me up, Scotty!”). So where’s my personal flying car or jet pack?
While we’re still investigating versions of railway systems, alternatives to the automobile – still firmly pinned to the road – are not easily and cheaply available or embraced.
Although many consumers are concerned by the increasing cost of crude oil which, with refinery variables, will set the price of gasoline, higher mpg has also been an in and out of favor benefit with newer cars. It’s been the history of the United States that when gasoline is cheap, the cars are both bigger and less fuel efficient. And the manufacturers are sometimes behind the curve in perceiving and reacting to consumers.
Biking and walking are two of the most used alternatives to autos, the biggest deterrents to their use being distance (time and energy), terrain, weather and the need to transport goods as well as people. Some hardier souls will bike or walk in nearly any weather, but the majority of us (as indicated by a 2000 government study) will not be biking or walking to work on a regular basis.
Electric rail is definitely cleaner than diesel rail, but electricity costs are on the rise and one of the major barriers to a comprehensive rail system in the U.S. is the acquisition of the land. Los Angeles, California had a rail system which failed mid-century and the rails were largely pulled up. Getting the right of way to use existing track or lay new track has caused the city to resort to short stretches of extremely expensive-to-build subways. Electric personal cars are available, but we’ll have to wait a little for one that’s affordable. And again, the cost of electricity, like gasoline, is rising.
There are innovations abounding as inventors look for ways to reduce carbon emissions in a practical and affordable way. GM and Segway have partnered on an enclosed version of its personal scooter and there are now compressed natural gas, biomethane, liquid propane engines or hydrogen/electric fuel cells, among others. But most of the alternative fuels are non-renewable and can be costly. And, since everything in our world is connected, using one type of fuel may have results we don’t expect – for example, the effect on the price of food when corn farmers started selling their crops for ethanol, reducing the amount of corn for feed or food ingredients like tortillas.
It seems clear that, at least for a good while, some form of combustion engine vehicles whether personal or mass transit will continue to be the most frequent mode of travel. We can encourage use of mass transit (fare subsidies) and combinations like bike/rail and hybrid cars but for the most part, we’ll have to try to reduce the effects of carbon emissions through cleaner engines, higher mpg and, of course, ridesharing.
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