Vancouver Island 2009: Nicholas Boers / Land Transportation in 2009

Land Transportation in 2009

Nicholas Boers

A future for new and innovative land transportation solutions is immanent, but we are tempted to ask many questions about what this future is going to be like. Will we be relying on mass-transit solutions or automobiles, and will these vehicles be in a familiar shape? How fast will we be traveling in our cars, and what will be their limiting factors? What new features will our vehicles have? How will we communicate with the plentiful number of new features? The future is surrounded in many questions; in the following article, I will provide you with some answers.

In the not-so-distant future, we will continue to rely on both mass-transit and automobiles for land transportation. Mass-transit will be essential in minimizing the environmental pollution we are skilled at manufacturing. In a perfect society, people who travel regular routes would car-pool with others who live nearby. People who are not traveling regular routes, or who are unable to car pool for one reason or another, would take buses whenever possible. We all know that society is not perfect now and that it will never be perfect; for that reason, we all know that it is not feasible for everyone to be taking mass-transit all the time. Therefore, we will still use cars but they will be complex compared to the ones we use today.

When we purchase a new car, we will have to face one new and very serious question. We will have the option of purchasing a vehicle that runs on a gasoline-electric combination system, or a vehicle that runs only on an electric system. Whether this electric system is based on the proprietary Ballard Fuel Cell (http://www.ballard.com) or evolving battery technology, it will be a necessary addition to every car. If the government is to play an active, positive role in the transition from combustion engines to electric motors, they will be required to offer major incentives for people to convert to an environmentally-friendly approach to transportation.

The question of the form of the vehicles remains. Vehicles will have roughly the same aerodynamic shapes that they have today. There will be a few advances in aerodynamics, but nothing revolutionary.

The speed at which automobiles move will not change drastically compared to the speeds of planes and boats. The electric cars will have slightly higher acceleration rates, meaning you will not have to wait as long when you are starting up at a light for traffic to begin moving. The electric motors produced by dbb fuel cell engines will only be capable of a maximum speed of around 110 kilometers/hour, thus reducing excessive speeding in newer automobiles. Similar electric engines may have their range improved to approximately 500 kilometers per charge by the year 2009.

The majority of the changes in the automobile industry will be seen in the features of each car, rather than the actual workings of the engine. Cars in the year 2009 will possess computers equal to our current super-computers. This is where the whole new electronic process begins. Inside each vehicle, you will find a computer screen capable of displaying at least 640 x 480 pixels at a time to provide the vehicle user with clear images. Stored on the 'super-computer' you will find maps of all major North American cities, updated weekly via the onboard satellite system. The computers will feature trip-planning software to ensure that long-distance trips take place effortlessly and in minimal time. In addition to this local wealth of information, the driver will be able to access current road conditions via the satellite network. Because the satellite network will be paid for by sponsors and government grants, all cars equipped with the appropriate equipment will be able to access it for downlink communications without a subscription.

If users wish to communicate with the satellite system by sending information, they will have to pay for a subscription. To communicate with the system, users will be required to have their car in 'park' to be sure they are concentrating on the road while they are driving and not on a computer. While users are parked, they will have the option of issuing the system voice commands, or typing in commands on an ergonomic Dvorak keyboard.

Each car will be issued a sign for the rear window containing a bar code of some length. This bar code will be the equivalent of today's license plates. The only information stored in the bar code will be a ten-digit or more license plate number, and the date of expiration for the insurance. The main reason for the switch to a bar code system is the fact that bar codes can easily be scanned, whereas license plate numbers have to be written down by hand.

Land transportation in the year 2009 will be very different, yet very similar, to the way we travel today. In many ways, it will be user-friendly, but in other ways, it may be very dangerous. The system described above is perfect (in theory), one built without any invasion of privacy. Although the system was not intended to invade privacy, it almost certainly would as it continued to develop. I can see major implications with a system like this. Parking garages would have the capability of scanning cars upon entering and exiting, and then billing the vehicle owners automatically. Places of employment would be able to scan cars when arriving and leaving, knowing exactly what time employees are in the office and then paying them by the minute. Anonymity would be gone while driving. We can all hope that a system such as the one described above is not implemented by 2009.