Counter Production

The other day I read an article considering the future of transporation. This oftenly taken for granted idea, unless your form of moving is by foot, is up for debate in my mind. It goes like this:

In the next 50 years, unless a viable alternative to cheap oil can be found, we could have to give up being able to travel where we want, when we want, according to a new government report. The Foresight think-tank surveyed 300 transport experts to draw up a series of predictions as to how we'll get around in 2055. These include:

•Personal mobility will no longer be assumed, and every journey will have to be justified. More meetings, even personal and family contact, will take place via tele-conferencing rather than face-to-face 'flesh' contact.

•We will be unable to build many more roads or transport links, and will instead have to make more intelligent use of existing capacity.

•Payment for road use, or use of other forms of transport, will have to reflect the real cost of the journey, including an element of compensation for its environmental damage.

•Drivers would have to pay per mile, and in many cases, book a 'slot' to take their journey.

•People could be allotted a 'carbon allowance', to cover all their activities including driving, air flights or other energy-consuming and emissions-producing behaviour.

The report remained reasonably optimistic, setting out an ideal scenario whereby a clean, cheap alternative to oil is widely available, enabling travel and global activity to continue according to present trends. However, it outlined a worst-case scenario whereby people are increasingly isolated as fuel prices spiral, leading to the collapse of the economy and any businesses reliant on transportation of goods. Communities will have to learn to be self-sufficient - and people will have to go back to using bicycles or even horses to get around.

Since my point of interest is transporation...

Counter Production

The other day I read an article considering the future of transporation. This oftenly taken for granted idea, unless your form of moving is by foot, is up for debate in my mind. It goes like this:

In the next 50 years, unless a viable alternative to cheap oil can be found, we could have to give up being able to travel where we want, when we want, according to a new government report. The Foresight think-tank surveyed 300 transport experts to draw up a series of predictions as to how we'll get around in 2055. These include:

•Personal mobility will no longer be assumed, and every journey will have to be justified. More meetings, even personal and family contact, will take place via tele-conferencing rather than face-to-face 'flesh' contact.

•We will be unable to build many more roads or transport links, and will instead have to make more intelligent use of existing capacity.

•Payment for road use, or use of other forms of transport, will have to reflect the real cost of the journey, including an element of compensation for its environmental damage.

•Drivers would have to pay per mile, and in many cases, book a 'slot' to take their journey.

•People could be allotted a 'carbon allowance', to cover all their activities including driving, air flights or other energy-consuming and emissions-producing behaviour.

The report remained reasonably optimistic, setting out an ideal scenario whereby a clean, cheap alternative to oil is widely available, enabling travel and global activity to continue according to present trends. However, it outlined a worst-case scenario whereby people are increasingly isolated as fuel prices spiral, leading to the collapse of the economy and any businesses reliant on transportation of goods. Communities will have to learn to be self-sufficient - and people will have to go back to using bicycles or even horses to get around.

Since my point of interest is transporation design with a focus on personal and public transportation. Initially working for Porsche and Toyota ranked highest for me, doing alternative forms of transportation seems important whether is a designing effective bicycles or any other human-powered or assisted movement. Then again I can try influencing alternative transportation and even getting rid of the oh-so-evil SUV. With China's automotive market booming, the use of fossil-fuels increasing I can imagine issues of possible shortages becoming apparent in the near future.

Madness