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Regarding traffic congestion, personal flying vehicles will only move the congestion to the sky. Freeways were supposed to alleviate the congestion of surface streets. We know how well that worked.
The hyperloop is probably technically achievable, at least for a short distance, but will never make economic sense. Elon Musk is the ultimate monorail salesman. When will people learn to just shut him out?
Electric and hybrid airplanes seem to make the most sense in highly populated areas where noise and pollution are issues.
Ducted fans can be efficient, but they are not always more efficient than an open propeller. You can get some of the benefits of ducting by putting winglets on the propeller tips, like the Hartzell Q-tip. Drone companies are also introducing prop winglets for quieter operation and some performance enhancement.
Using arrays of many small ducted fans could reduce the aerodynamic penalties of ducted fans, but at a point, it may be easier to simply duct high pressure air from a central compressor.
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