Comments on: 4.) Trends to Watch in 2010 – The Personal Mobility Explosion

By: Different

Different — Sat, 28 May 2011 17:52:54 +0000

No offense but these vehicles are hideous. We need to get out of the habits of futuristic and focus on past looks a bit more. Cars driving themselves.. seriously? The fun in driving is driving something fast, mean, and muscley.. not a rolling toothpick that can electrically glide you from point A to B.

By: John Threlfall

John Threlfall — Thu, 05 May 2011 08:21:39 +0000

Great pleasure to stumble upon your blog. I have been having many of the same thoughts, and envisioning small alternative vehicles. I had no idea there was so much innovation going on. I believe the key transition will be to have small, light, low speed (say 20mph) vehicles that can be driven or lifted onto mass transit options. The existing street grid will be divided into two overlapping grids: One for existing dinosaur cars and trucks, and the other for the all the little guys. There will be strategic “chokepoints” that only the little vehicles can pass through. This allows cars and trucks to go anywhere they could before, but cannot get far without returning to their own grid. So without building new roads, two overlapping ecosystems come into being, which would allow the alternatives to flourish and become truly feasible and attractive. Without loss of urban mobility and convenience, you could go from $10K a year to $2K a year in transportation cost.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:00:10 +0000

Awesome blog, great!

By: Improbus

Improbus — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:24:22 +0000

Things will get even better when we have automated cars (cars that drive themselves). That will be a glorious day. For the most part people are horrible drivers. They are easily distracted and many of them are just plain stupid. I would love for a transportation device to show up in front of my house and take me to work. Just pay a monthly fee or a per mile fee and get all the transportation you want.

By: Steve Meyer

Steve Meyer — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 23:26:06 +0000

I think with mobility changing so dramatically, urban infrastructure will have to change dramatically as well. No more need for 8 lane highways and a lot of paved over surfaces for parking lots.

By: John Wilson

John Wilson — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:08:32 +0000

Perhaps a significant boost to these products is the conversion of the vehicle into an office (and the parking lot into the office). The vehicle could be used more of the day and would solve the privacy unavailable in cubicles.

By: Steve Meyer

Steve Meyer — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:56:52 +0000

Hi Tom, that is a great article. It is obvious that the opportunities of better transportation modes await us. It has always been said that Americans “love” autos. I think what’s true is that Americans love mobility and now that we are stuck in traffic all the time with our autos, it is time to look for other modes. It will be interesting to see how readily governments and other entities interested in maintaining the status quo will allow new modes to exist. Even cities that call themselves “progressive” are hopelessly backward. Something as simple and as practical as electric-assist bicycles are illegal in NYC.