Transportation of the future

We made this video for the US PIRG video contest, which asks 'What is your vision of sustainable transportation of the future?' Public transportation will play a major role, but no realistic vision of transportation should leave out electric cars and trucks.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• carrick
• USPIRG
• public
• transportation
• electric
• car
• PRT
• rapid
• transit
• high
• speed
• rail
• MBTA
• Boston

[pippicat]

"cars themselves aren't so much of the problem"

WRONG!! When pedestrians and bicycles are killed by motor vehicles, it doesn't matter what the fuel source is. When 1.2 million people die in car crashes every year (worldwide), it doesn't matter what the fuel source is.

The opinions in this childish video are not supported by the evidence.

And PRT is a joke.

[carrickgareth]

I was waiting for the car-haters to speak up.

650,000 Americans are killed each year by heart disease. Would you suggest we ban meat and dairy consumption too?

You called a video by a 9-year-old childish. Isn't that kind of stating the obvious?

"PRT is a joke"...thanks for that insightful statement, care to elaborate?

[ubrayj02]

Driving a car on the open road written into the constitution? Give it a rest!

How about making federal spending on transportation equal across modes: bicycling, trains, and highways?

Cars are a huge problem, and expense, in urban areas. Continuing public subsidy of them in these areas is foolish - trains and bicycles make much more sense.

[carrickgareth]

OK, you try convincing Americans to give up their cars for bicycles and trains. 

I agree to support different transportation more fairly.

I wouldn't argue with a stiff in-city charge for cars, since there isn't much need for them in a city IF you really boost infrastructure for public transit. Cities could be a lot more bicycle-friendly, too. However, my guess is you'd still have a problem convincing most Americans to regularly use bicycles, no matter how much you yourself might love them.

[BostonUrbEx]

Cars are PRT! Highways are the infrastructure for PRT.

PRT is seriously terrible... Incredibly costly and NOT sustainable.

[sentiments]

We should look at the big picture.

[sentiments]

When we are looking at civilisations within the universe and galaxies, we are looking for the

levels of civilisation. A type 1 civilisation has harnessed all planetary power,

they control earthquakes the weather, etc,

a type 2 is stalar, has exhausted the energy within the planet and tends

to seek energy source from existent, they harness the power from solar flares.

[sentiments]

We are not even a level 1 civilisation because we obtain our energy source from dead

decomposing elements, oil and coal. Take for example the car. It uses limited fuel for travel.

And in turn, produces harmful gases that deplete the ozone, are harmful to our health

or bring about global warming. We would need to harness a different energy source, one of

which is limitless and harmless to mankind. Take for example, solar flare[ energy from

the sun].

[sentiments]

I agree with itstakentoo,

Mankind will be entering a transition from a lvl 0 civilisation to a lvl 1 civilisation.

We have no need for cars to be our main transportation in the future.

If we do not want to be history, we have to look at other alternatives for transportation

and the big picture. Therefore, I would say, the current car transportation system has to go.

[Danotto9797]

u know wat i totally agree with u

what we need are more trolleybusses or just articulated busses running on electricity circulating around the city

[itstakentoo]

Cars are not a right. If the USA wants any kind of energy use in its future the car has to go.

We simply do not have the energy left to build a mass transit system and to continue to pay for the roads.

After the last few weeks we may not have capitol to build either.

[s7o0a0p]

I live in Hyde Park, it takes 9 minutes to get downtown by Commuter Rail, and almost 40 minutes by car. In all honesty, I think trains are better then cars. This kid said trains aren't convenient, but like in 1900 there were train lines to almost every town in the eastern US, and there were more lines and trains to make train trips more convenient.

[pippicat]

One could similarly argue that there are complicating factors in the death toll from motor vehicles (especially alcohol). But the key point is that the high speed is a necessary component for causing death - whereas heart disease can easily occur without any meat or dairy consumption.

So again, your analogy falls flat.

[pippicat]

Your analogy is false, because eating is necessary, while driving is not.

Furthermore, meat and dairy consumption do not cause 650,000 deaths by heart disease. There are many other factors (such as tobacco), and all meat and dairy are not equal.

I assume that the dialogue was not written by the 9-year-old, but by his puppet master.

And it's no fun to explain a joke.