Eviation’s Alice prototype.
Ian Langsdon/EPA
Small regional flights will soon start going electric but batteries are unlikely to ever fully power large airliners.
Phantomm/Shutterstock
Electrifying transport needs bigger changes than another high-end electric car.
shutterstock.
eans/Shutterstock
The year 2030 may not seem far away, but a decade is a long time in technological terms. Widespread automation, electrification, and connectivity are set to revolutionise the car of the future.
The world’s first commercial hydrogen-fuelled train in Germany.
David Hecker/EPA
Fuel cells are being touted as an alternative to costly electrification – but no one knows if they’ll really be cheaper.
A race to dominate the emerging tech-driven mobility sector is happening in cities around the world.
Jakub Kaminski/EPA
Investment is pouring into urban technology, much of it into innovative ventures that aim to transform how we get around our cities.
Most transport resources are being used inefficiently. The Canberra Transport Photo shows the road space required to move 69 people using public transport, bicycles and private motor vehicles.
Cycling Promotion Fund
Blind belief that new technology and disruptive innovation will fix congestion in our cities overlooks the need for strong leadership that supports progressive policy innovation.
Autonomous vehicles are coming to our cities – in fact, driverless buses are already on the road in Adelaide.
David Mariuz/AAP
To maximise the benefits and limit the costs, the use of autonomous vehicles should be pooled and their access to the city restricted.
This Melbourne traffic jam shows the system’s vulnerability to congestion. A data-based integrated transport approach may help it cope better with inevitable disruptions.
Julian Smith/AAP
A project set up north of Melbourne’s CBD aims to create a living laboratory for developing a highly integrated, smart, multimodal transport system.
from www.shutterstock.com
With 35 new inter-city routes shortlisted for testing, it’s time to start taking hyperloop seriously.
New technology and real-time data are breaking down the old transport system silos.
Jakub Kaminski/EPA
Roads versus public transport: for decades, these have been the battle lines in debates over transport in our cities. But a revolution in mobility is under way that will transform our thinking.
Solar Impulse
Don’t expect a solar-powered 747 anytime soon.
Uber may open cities from taxi oligopolies, but ultimately it closes them off to the possibility of more meaningful alternatives.
Scott L/flickr
Uber actively encloses what could be a more open city in which riders and drivers work to benefit city residents.
Using incentives drawn from game play, the peak-hour crush can be reduced, or avoided altogether.
Stilgherrian/flickr
Using elements of game play, we can create incentives for people to change how and when they make various transport choices in ways that enable the whole system to work better.
The report criticises the state’s failure to adequately integrate the planning of land use development and transport priorities, but falls into the same trap itself.
AAP/Melanie Foster
Infrastructure Australia’s latest report is substantial but, critically, it fails to incorporate the transport thinking needed to develop more compact cities that work better for everyone.
Fly away on my Zephyr.
Airbus
Internet connections could one day come from solar-powered planes that fly for months or even longer at a time.
Coming soon to a runway near you. Or not.
Pascal Rossignol / Reuters
With emissions targets to hit and oil running out, it’s time to take electric planes seriously.
James Vaughan (artist: Jim Powers)
Despite futuristic predictions, planes, cars and trains haven’t changed much for decades.
Clemens v. Vogelsang/flickr
Worldwide, everyone’s moving to the city - we need to work smart to stay moving and avoid global gridlock.
University of Tokyo
Innovative ideas about how to decarbonise shipping are helping to harness the original renewable power source once more.
Lokan Sadari/flickr
Despite disruptive innovation and significant investment in public transport, our old ways of travelling look here to stay.