public transportation - past & future

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, mechanical power sources revolutionized public transportation. It started with the trains, then moved to streetcars, underground trains, and busses. Thanks to steam, combustion engine, and electric power, public transportation could offer a high transportation volume, allowing the cities to grow even more rapidly.

Today, more than 100 years later, we still use the same type of transportation means.

Today, we face different challenges and opportunities, which should provoke us to rethink what we have, what we need, and what we are capable of.

1. Large trains and busses which are packed during rush hours are not fully utilized during other parts of the day (or week)

2. Massive vehicles based on rail infrastructure offer relatively low efficiency. This can be easily seen when a bike ride in most cases is faster than using public transport.

3. adaptation for the changing requirement of the city's residents is hard to achieve

4. Maintenance of rail-based vehicles causes a lot of disturbance in the public space for very long periods.

5. Transportation of goods, which is becoming essential in the age of e-commerce, is not being addressed at all.

A new tech revolution. With the improvement of batteries capacity, more computing power and AI, we can create a new kind of transportation solution which suits better our current needs, offer better energy efficiency while offering better service. Similar to shared taxis which offer an almost door to door service, we could have:

1. service based on totally autonomous vehicles.

2. shared vehicles which could deliver people and goods fast from door to door

3. Real-time allocation of public space for people to wander or of public transportation, based on the needs

4. maximum service while keeping the minimum amount of vehicles on the road

5. a holistic solution based on miro, midsize and large scale vehicles that offer the optimal solution for the exact type of requirement