Aerial, Aquatic, or by Rail: The Next Step in Transportation
Transportation is constantly evolving. This is because as time passes, some methods of transport become prevalent depending on people’s needs. Today, It is safe to say that on-road transportation (specifically cars) is the most used form of transportation (unless you’re playing Minecraft in creative mode), but other forms are also becoming more efficient as time passes. So, my question is: what will the next most effective method of transportation be?
Aerial Transportation:
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. airports handled about 9.8 million commercial airline flights in 2017. This number has fluctuated between 9.5 and 10 million since 2010.
Blah blah. I can ramble on about facts, but that’s not the point of this article. No, I’d rather focus on the future. Advances in the field, new technology in development, etc. Keep in mind that this will be from my point of view, so feel free to disagree with my opinions.
So, where do I see the future of air travel going?
I do see potential in private air travel, but I believe that it could go two ways: it will either be a revolution or a flop. One good example of an exciting concept are air taxis.
Air taxis are still being researched and developed; they haven’t been implemented yet. One company that is currently working on developing air taxis is Uber. They plan on eventually running a service called Uber air. This would make personal aerial transport cheaper and more accessible to people in urban areas.
Pros:
- They will make commutes much faster
- Less traffic on the ground and in popular airports
- Flexibility in travelling time, and you can fly whenever you please.
Cons:
- They are expensive (and I mean lots of $$$)
- An above-ground infrastructure would need to be created to avoid collisions
- Poses as a risk to people below in the case of a crash
Other forms of aerial transport are also in development, such as electric airplanes, ion propulsion planes, and more.
Aquatic Transportation:
This area of transport is unique since there are many different types. There are large cargo ships that can carry loads of freight, personal boats for entertainment, submarines, jet skis, etc. Here are some pros & cons for this mode of transport:
Pros:
- Watercraft can run on reusable energy more effectively than other forms of transport
- Sizes of water vessels can range from individual use to craft that can hold up to 6000 people.
- New forms of aquatic transport (such as underwater jetpacks, hydrofoil ships, personal submarines, etc.) are being made.
Cons:
- Is considered to be the most dangerous of the three modes in this article
- Travels at relatively slow speeds
- Certain ships cause marine pollution (oil tankers, cruise ships, etc.)
However, in my opinion, aquatic transport is mainly for entertainment or shipping purposes. The industry could be optimized, but I do not think that there will be any significant advancements in this field of transport. I don’t mean that there will be no advancements. There are innovations such as X Shore’s 100% electric boat, SkySails wind-powered ships, and more. What I mean is that I don’t think that advances in aquatic transport will revolutionize transportation as a whole.
On Rail Transportation:
Lastly, transit on rail: one of the oldest forms of long-distance transportation (Invented in the 1760s). However, trains are now being used less for travel in modern times, and more for delivering cargo.
Pros:
- They travel at high speeds over long distances, making them effective for delivering cargo & passengers
- Trains are run on a schedule and are easily accessible to people
- If implemented correctly, the system is convenient for many
Cons:
- The system must run like clockwork
- Lacks flexibility; only travels at certain times
- Expensive to implement & maintain
There still are significant advancements in city transit. One example is Ontario’s Hamilton LRT has recently been implemented. However, while in a perfect world it would be convenient, there have been many complaints about it complicating the OC Transpo bus system.
Transit serves as an alternative to other vehicles. It can prove useful in commutes but is not used to travel daily, or traverse extremely long distances.
However, innovations in railway transport have the potential to be revolutionary. One eye-opening invention is Hyperloop. It would use electromagnetic levitation and vacuum tubes to move a pod over 1000 km/h. If it became a reality, it would boost the usage of on-rail transportation, with passengers and cargo.
Conclusion:
I believe that the next big advancement in transportation (not including road vehicles) will be in the field of aerial transportation. This is because if it was made to be more efficient and available, people would have more freedom and would be able to travel faster. However, there would have to be an airspace infrastructure for travelling if it became more popular ( air taxis, air buses, etc. ).
Following that, another field that I think will expand is on-rail transport. With inventions like Hyperloop, travelling on rail will become easier and more efficient than some other types of transit. It would drastically cut down on travel time and traffic. Also, it could potentially run on clean energy. However, there is not as much freedom as aerial transportation, so it can only be used for specific purposes.
Finally, aquatic transportation. Once again, aquatic transportation is limited to shipping or entertainment purposes. However, an infrastructure for transport in tubes underwater could be cool… but that’s a topic for another article.
The main takeaway from this article in simple words is that transportation will never stop evolving.
That concludes my opinion on the potential of future transport systems. If you disagree… that’s too bad. Just kidding, feel free to comment with any feedback you have. 😉
Thanks for reading! I’m a university student passionate about emerging technology, coding, engineering, and more. You can follow me or connect with me on LinkedIn.
