Transport VIEWS

Transport of the future

28 September 2020.

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This article appears in REVOLVE #37

Over the last century the possibilities of human transportation have changed beyond our wildest dreams. But with cities becoming over-crowded and with vital environmental targets to meet, new solutions are needed. From cable cars across the Mexico City skyline, to driverless buses on the streets of London – discover the innovations from around the world that are re-imagining how we get from A to B.

USA: 70% of U.S. traffic consists of people driving alone. The Lit Motors C1 is an electric self-balancing scooter/car crossoveraiming to reduce traffic. Photo: Intel Free Press.

France: The “Lili” prototype from Advanced Aerodynamic Vessels make the most of aerodynamics and rely on the air to lighten the weight of the boat and thus go faster (up to 60 knots or over 110 km/h) whilst using less fuel. Photo: Jean-Pierre Bazard.

The Netherlands: The PAL-V Liberty is the first flying car production model. The Liberty is a combination of a car and an autogiro, or gyroplane. Photo : PAL-V.

The Netherlands: The PAL-V Liberty is the first flying car production model. The Liberty is a combination of a car and an autogiro, or gyroplane. Photo : PAL-V.

Ecatepec de Morelos, Mexico: The Mexicable cable car line is 4.8 kilometers (3.0 mi) long with a traveling time of 17 minutes, down from the hour-long commute using ground-level transportation. It operates 184 cars, each with a capacity of 10 passengers. The predicted volume is 3,000 passengers per hour and 29,000 passengers per day. The Mexicable has brought some urban renewal to areas served by its stations: streetlights were installed, roads were paved, and about 50 murals were commissioned along the route. Photo: Presidencia de la República Mexicana

Nevada, USA: Virgin Hyperloop One XP-1 test pod at the DevLoop test site in Nevada. Photo: Virgin Hyperloop One.

Nevada, USA: Hyperloop One’s 500-meter Development Loop (DevLoop). Photo: Virgin Hyperloop One.

Dubai, UAE: DP World Cargospeed, enabled by Virgin Hyperloop One technology, will transport high-priority, time-sensitive cargo around the world. Concept image: DP World & Virgin Hyperloop One.

USA + Japan: Maryland officials participated in a test ride at SC MAGLEV Center, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. Maryland is exploring a future partnership with Japan to build a Baltimore-Washington line. Photo: Steve Kwak / State of Maryland

Luxemburg: Volvo 79 Electric Hybrid from AVL (Ville de Luxembourg) at a fast charging station at Central Station in Luxembourg. Photo: GilPe

Seattle, USA: RapidRide lines are faster because they service fewer stops, make extensive use of transit signal priority to preempt traffic lights, and use special lanes to bypass traffic. Photo: Oran Viriyincy

London, UK: Thames Clippers is a River Bus service on the River Thames, transporting on average 10,000 passengers daily. Photo: Fraselpantz

China: EHang is preparing to launch what it hopes is the world’s first autonomous air taxi service. The Ehang 184 is capable of reaching over 100km/h (with a limited range of 16 km). Photo: Alex Butterfield

Air travel: Airbus has revealed three concepts for the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft which could enter service by 2035. All three of the aircraft concepts, which rely on hydrogen as a fuel, are to be put through their paces to explore and mature the design and layout their future zero-emission plane. Concept image: Airbus

Tallinn, Estonia: Tallinn has introduced a short shuttle route operated by driverless buses. The shuttle, like all public transport in the city, is free of charge for its residents. Photo: Aron Urb

Greenwich, UK: UK’s Transport Research Laboratory is conducting a driverless pod trial. The shuttle is a repurposed Ultra Pod, already in operation at London’s Heathrow Airport. Photo: Spsmiler

Morgantown, USA: America’s one and only personal rapid transit (PRT) system connects the three Morgantown campuses of West Virginia University and the city’s downtown area. The driverless system was a government-funded experiment which opened in 1975. Like all PRT systems, stations are built on sidings, which allows vehicles to bypass stations and enables express trips between any two station pairs. Photo: Jae69376 (above), Antony-22 (below)

Morgantown, USA: America’s one and only personal rapid transit (PRT) system connects the three Morgantown campuses of West Virginia University and the city’s downtown area. The driverless system was a government-funded experiment which opened in 1975. Like all PRT systems, stations are built on sidings, which allows vehicles to bypass stations and enables express trips between any two station pairs. Photo: Jae69376 (above), Antony-22 (below)

Switzerland: Following in the footsteps of the previous Snap and microSnap concepts, RinSpeed’s MetroSnap Concept is a driverless “modular mobility system” that features a skateboard chassis as well as swappable passenger and cargo pods. Concept image: RinSpeed