Transport Technology.

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Transport is the key challenge for global sustainability.  The challenge is to reduce the resources used per unit of utility or service gained. While this is not easy, it is not impossible The Book factor 4 and the Factor X web site testifies to the options available. Yet only 10% of the options are covered by either site. There is more to do and opportunities to be pursued. The best medium to long term options are listed below. So Where's my Bicycle your saying? At the bottom of the page. Click on the image to find the website.

Guy Negre's compressed air car. 100 km/h for about 100 kilometres is about as good as you need in the city and it allows you to travel intercity sustainably. It looks good too. We can make the compressed air cheaply from all sustainable power sources. The MDI site is here but the US site, click on the car to the left or click here, is easier to read.  His articulated mini air powered bus is brilliant and will if it works create a massive reduction in resources used per kilometre travelled.         It can be combined with a cold fusion cell to produce a permanent energy technology solution to world wide travel sustainability.  See more on cold fusion here.         He may not know it but the technology should work on Mars replacing heavy batteries which we have to ship from Earth to Mars with composites and gases that can be made on Mars. CO2 is difficult to compress but can be made into ice. Compressed oxygen and nitrogen will work also if you have a large volumed vehicle. .

SkyTran personal magnetic levitation transport system. My favourite option. Two seat magnetically supported and propelled pods available on call with full robotic guidance at 80 to 100 kilometres per hour. The design allows two seat units, one seat units with a cargo space. A wheel chair accessible design is being worked on and dedicated robotic cargo pods. The project needs capital to do a little more work on switching and track security and it will be ready to deploy for the cost of a medium to light rail system depending on the ruggedness of the terrain. The harder the terrain the better since this system is mast mounted and the maglev systems can run or zig zag up steep slopes

Transrapid Maglev transport system. It is the prime candidate for sustainable intercity and interstate transport for people and light cargo. The first commercial system in Germany is well established and a Shanghai system is taking passengers but both are short relative to the the long interstate links needed to move people sustainably. At 310 miles per hour, 498 kilometres per hour.          The great challenge is to get medium cargo on the maglev tracks. These are the kind of cargos that can fit into the air freight containers on commercial airliners. The speed and volume of the maglev would make them competitive with air freight. The trick is to off load the cargo without holding up the next train. This means extra track or extra platforms, fast unloading cranes.

The Hong Kong mid level escalator system. It moves people from the port and CBD area near the shore line to the residential suburbs on the ridge line in minutes. This has eliminated dozens of buses and cars from the narrow streets that wind up and around the ridges slope. People can ride up and walk along the streets that follow the contours of the ridge and a single bus service top and bottom can distribute people along the ridge. Escalators and travelators have been part of the urban scene for 100 years but large scale systems are rarely built. They're the favourite of countess science fiction artists and urban planners but few cities have the foresight to actually build one. They are only really viable where the city has a large population that commutes over a significant vertical distance. There are several third world cities where this might work out; Rio, Lima and Kingston. Note; there doesn't seem to be a web site for it. The link behind the picture is a wikipedia page. I think the escalator manufacturers are missing a great opportunity to advertise the technology and its benefits.

Where's my Bicycle. Cycles are OK in flat cities, populated by single people without kids, 20 kg of groceries, or the need for a rain coat. Ie Cairo.  Many people can't use bicycles. I know someone with a balance problem that can't ride at all and I regularly pull a muscle in embarrassing places.The unfit are not unfit because they don’t ride, they often can’t ride because of back or muscular problems that also make them unfit. The escalator mentioned above allows bicycles to work in a big city with hills but only if the bikes are allowed on the systems.  Home