|
Ebikes and a trailer will be the salvation of some sort of personal transportation for the middle class as far out as you want to look. Horses of the future.
.
All of these progressive discussions must keep in mind what time frame we are talking about. 2017? 5 years from now which is how far down the road most people seem to think about. 20 years? Which is just the beginning of a timeframe of being able to change infrastructure? 100 years when we pass peak oil and liquid fuel prices skyrocket?
.
The internet and smart phones will change / replace taxis with ride sharing. You will call for a ride, when the vehicle arrives there will already be 2-3 people inside. On the way to where you are going, 1 gets out, then a little further, 1 more gets in. Then you get out. like a custom bus route and very cheap. Studies have recently shown that NYC could reduce the number of taxi licenses by 80% since none of them would ever be sitting around, fighting for a fare.
.
On a 20 year time scale the inevitable carbon taxes will begin the end to long commutes for the middle class in the USA. And a long, gradual shift away from single family houses. Rent a car for trips out of town for the growing numbers of metro dwellers. Electric drive cars will start to take a real share and show us that we needed to start hanging a lot more wires. Once most people live in metros, everything changes. Congestion and parking become a major concern. Narrow track, leaning, enclosed three wheelers. simple ebikes. Mass transit made more integrated and versatile
.
Don't even want to talk about 100 years.
|