Consider that we now have a sort of
haphazard transportation system wherein private cars designed mainly for their emotional
appeal to a universe of quixotic consumers are responsible for 88% of the total passenger
miles traveled. And contrast this with the fact that personal mobility is a
fundamental commodity of modern society. In today’s world, transportation is
truly not a consumer item. It’s an essential commodity. And it ought to
be envisioned in terms of an integrated system. When you step back from it in
this way, it is easy to see that our present system of private cars is out of step with
the realities of the 21st century.
So over the long term, it seems reasonable to
believe that private cars, sold on the basis of emotional appeals, may no longer be
the backbone of our transportation system. Like buses, light rail, and aircraft
today, vehicles will be designed for maximum utility, rather than for fashion. And once
you envision personal mobility as a basic commodity, rather than a consumer item, new
approaches naturally emerge. Personal Rapid Transit is a viable option.
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