Day: November 30, 2017

It is hard to predict the future. However, when you look at what you have, and what’s on the pipeline, you can hope for the best. For the future of mobility, some things will not change while others will. For example, people walk or ride a bicycle to work as a healthy alternative to driving. As such, bike lanes, sidewalks and walking areas, and other carless means of moving around become more common – a bold idea that has its share of pros and cons.

Worsening Traffic Because of  Volume

Before things get better, commuting and traveling to and from schools and office will get harder. Analysts believe that the rides will be longer and there will be more people on the vehicles. Even though advanced technology already exists, such bold ideas still need to take some time before they are used on a mass scale. Commuters tend to accept changes when these modes of transportation work. Authorities will have to decide where and when implementation begins before commuters reap the benefits.

Buses, for example, convert from pure gas or diesel use to electric or hybrid technology. With more people commuting, it is expected the number of electric buses will increase too. Some cities already have driverless shuttles and short point-to-point routes; others opt for electric or hybrid cars they can carpool in.

The Car Society

California has been criticized as a car culture and the freeways remain part of the infrastructure. Regardless, it’s expected to be even more packed with vehicles, each carrying more passengers, but cars will be moving faster. Electric cars will also be mostly driverless and automated, and commuting this way becomes safer. The city will also be part of an automated transit service which passengers call on demand. Due to automation, cars will no longer swerve from one lane to another, and drivers will no longer rail and shout against each other.

There are more innovations in progress, including the Hyperloop, which will have top speeds of 700 miles per hour (mph). There is also the Volocopter, an automated pilotless drone capable of transporting up to two persons.

Ideas at Work

All these innovations are either in advanced stages or still under development. So far, the biggest hurdles for officially implementing these bold innovations are the regulations already in place to address environmental impact and noise pollution.

When considering transportation, there are other factors. First, there is the ever-growing population. In the Bay Area alone, it is predicted there is an increase of 2 million residents by 2040, inching the population closer to 10 million. This may push prices higher and drive commuters further away to Tracy, Modesto, and beyond. Working in Silicon Valley while living in these areas means enduring longer commutes.

This kind of problem may replicate itself in other major cities. Effective solutions are a unique mix of technologies catering to each city’s needs. For example, ride sharing or carpooling becomes more common, while other commuters might subscribe to a service where they ride a driverless taxi from a pickup point to the high speed rail terminal. These are alternatives that minimize or eliminate the use of personal cars due to the limited parking spaces at the terminal.

Future commutes need to address larger populations and travels over longer distances, using new environment-friendly technologies. With automated vehicles, commuters are free to read, catch up on their email, or make phone calls. It frees up the time for people to be more productive, and at the same time, they are less stressed from the daily commute.

Besides autonomous vehicles and drone taxis, the hyperloop technology  is one of the most awaited transportation developments of this era. This bold innovation is touted the most reliable and efficient mode of transportation the human race has produced so far. The system cleared multiple test runs in recent months, achieving greater horsepower than its series of May 2017 tests.

The most recent simulations had a 28-foot long test pod, traveling the 500-meter (1640-foot) track and hitting speeds of 192 miles per hour (mph). This is an impressive development, but the transportation innovation might be ferrying freight and cargo first, instead of actual passengers.

Hyperloop Technology: Passengers or Freight First?

Hyperloop is a bold idea that took decades to perfect and implement. First hatched during the 70s, the original plan was to create a tunnel with very thin pressure or a near vacuum, and a train-like vehicle will be dropped inside it. Due to this thin pressure, the vehicle is theoretically able to reach supersonic speeds easily. A test tube track for the Hyperloop One was created in Las Vegas, Nevada. The test results in May this year had the Hyperloop reaching acceleration levels of about 2G at 70 mph. By July, a Hyperloop One pod was able to hit speeds of 192 mph.

Tech mogul Elon Musk’s brainchild the Hyperloop is a brand new means of transportation. As such, it is understandable for authorities to have safety concerns. Passengers would be subjected to extreme speeds and velocities, and there haven’t been any tests yet on how these would affect ordinary people. Air Force pilots and astronauts, who are exposed to similar travel conditions, undergo rigorous training and wear specialized suits to protect them for the effects of speed and gravity.

Recently, there were talks about using the Hyperloop to transport freight and cargo first before actual human passengers. Former Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx had said in interviews that he believes “freight will move first on the Hyperloop as there might need to be various safety rules and regulations in place before passengers can actually begin to travel via the Hyperloop.”

Besides ferrying passengers at ultra-fast speeds, the Hyperloop is also expected to revolutionize the air freight and surface expedited freight markets, since it is able to transport freight volumes as can be accommodated by trains but at speeds of air freight travel. The road transport industry, however, stands to gain from the Hyperloop freight service since they need first and last line delivery systems for shipments passing through the Hyperloop.

Disrupting the Freight Delivery Industry

Even if the Hyperloop is only implemented in the cargo and freight industry, it will still make a bold impact in how cargo is moved and delivered. It will bring about positive effects in businesses because decision timelines, supply chain costs and the amount of time a product leaves the manufacturer and reaches the consumer’s hands is extremely improved.

The implications are positive all around and could significantly lower costs of various goods and commodities. That is, if Hyperloop is able to overcome all regulations, security issues, insurance hassles to even get started. Once they do, and the freight service works, it will have to win over the people by proving that they are safe, fast, and reliable modes of transportation.