Technology 2
Think about your drive home from work, school, or shopping errands. But notice something is different: there are cars on the road but no traffic congestion, the air is clean, there are no car crashes, and you aren’t worried about getting a speeding ticket.
If you ride your bike home you’ll see it, too – vehicles aren’t whizzing past close enough to clip you, and when you get tired of peddling you rest your feet and coast home. The bus ride is the most productive part of your day as you finish a report while you pass vehicles in other lanes.
That is the potential of how transportation technologies could improve our quality of life in the future. While no one knows for sure what or when the “next big thing” in transportation will be, the one thing we can predict is that the future will be unpredictable.
What is on the horizon? What isn’t?
While many types of innovations are in various stages of research and development, some have the potential to impact our transportation system right now, while some may stay in the realm of “what if” for decades to come. Just a few innovations on the horizon include:
IN THE NEAR TERM
Alternative Fuels
Fuels derived from cleaner energy sources than traditional fuels, including electricity, hydrogen, natural gas, and propane.
Shared Mobility
Using vehicles on an as-needed basis, including bike sharing, car sharing, and ridesharing (e.g., transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft).
Electric Bicycles
Bicycles with integrated with electric motors that can provide assistance to the rider, allowing people to climb hills easier and go farther with less effort.
NEXT IN LINE
Autonomous Vehicles
Vehicles, including private vehicles as well as buses and freight trucks, that can drive themselves, or take on certain aspects of driving in “autopilot” mode.
Connected Freight
Freight vehicles that use one or more communication technologies to communicate with drivers, other freight vehicles, roadside infrastructure, or the “cloud.”
Delivery Drones
An unmanned aerial vehicle – essentially a flying robot – used to deliver packages.
MAYBE, MAYBE NOT
Flying Cars
Cars that fly, need we say more?
Hyperloop
Vehicles that travel through low-pressure tubes, floating above a track using magnetic levitation.
Solar Roads
Roadways (or parking lots) that are made from solar panels and can be used to generate electricity that can be for the roadway itself (e.g., heating for snowmelt and lighting for safety) or as an energy source.
What type of benefits can we expect?
Innovation is expected to impact everything from congestion and safety, to mobility, costs of goods, and the environment. Just a few examples include:
Alternative Fuels
Alternative fuels can make driving a vehicle cheaper, more convenient, and more environmentally friendly, and can reduce dependence on foreign fuels.
Autonomous Vehicles
Driver assistance technologies, such as autonomous vehicles, can decrease the number of human errors u2013 the cause of 94% of serious crashes u2013 and save lives.
Shared Mobility
Shared mobility can provide mobility options for individuals, including low income, individuals with disabilities, the elderly, and more, who may not have the ability or desire to own or drive their own vehicle.
Connected Freight
Connected freight, such as when freight trucks virtually u201clinku201d to one another to each other to establish uniform speeds and following distances, could save up to 7% of fuel costs, which in turn, can lead to reduced costs of durable goods.
Electric Bicycles
E-bikes can increase the distance bicycle commuters or recreational riders can travel, as well as provide an additional option for individuals who cannot or do not drive, allowing them to reach destinations that would normally be outside the biking range.
Delivery Drones
Delivery drones could reduce the number of freight trucks in our neighborhoods, thus increasing safety on local roads, while also increasing reliability and decreasing costs of deliveries.
What are the challenges?
New is never easy. New technologies will face hurdles ranging from legal and political barriers, to market-based challenges, to physical and technological difficulties in incorporating innovation into existing transportation infrastructure.
Curious what other technology changes are on the horizon and how they might impact our transportation future?