The future of urban mobility

The video above shows the BMW i vision of BMW how the future could look like. Will it look like this? Today, more people than ever live in urban areas and densely populated cities. Over 50% of the world’s population now lives in cities and urban areas. They breathe polluted air and spend hours on congested streets during the rush hour. Many of the most populated cities, including Beijing, New Delhi, New York, and Mexico city, are unfortunately also the world’s most polluted places and have the world’s worst air quality.

We must find a solution to the challenge of urban mobility, which is one of the largest factors contributing to air pollution and smog today. If we do not find sustainable ways of living with renewable energy, then we will suffocate in smog and drown in waste. In the age of peak oil and global warming we have no other choice. One possible solution is zero-emission transport. The classic bicycle, for instance, which was common in China not long ago was not so bad after all. Another possibility to achieve zero-emission transport is to use modern lightweight electric cars made of Carbon Fiber that emits no pollutants. We have the technology. We only need to use it.

It would be a big step forward if politicians could agree on the following points, or at least on some of them:

• prohibit gasoline and diesel cars in large cities, at least between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• offer cheap car sharing with modern electric cars inside large mega cities
• support effective lightweight electric cars made of Carbon Fiber
• enable comfortable and fast high speed trains between cities
• use renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines and solar panels

It should be possible to prohibit gasoline and diesel cars in large cities, if we support public transport and electric car sharing. Electric car sharing reduces traffic congestion and environmental pollution. Traffic between cities can be handled by high speed trains. People can use electric trains to travel between cities, and shared electric cars to travel around inside. No one owns a train, why does everyone need an own car? Car sharing can be as convenient as owning your own car, especially in large cities. Locate a car with your smartphone and you’re on your way.

Car sharing in big cities is very successful, as the growing number of Car2Go and DriveNow cars and users show. If these car sharing services would only offer electric cars, we would make a big step forward towards the goal of zero-emission transport. We have already electric car sharing solutions in Brussels, San Francisco, and Seoul. Just imagine L.A. or London without cars burning fossil fuels. Electric cars from BMW, Tesla Motors and Smart show us the way to a sustainable future with renewable energy.

References

* BMW i Vision
* Car Sharing provider pages Car2Go and DriveNow
* Wikipedia pages for zero-emission transport, high speed trains, peak oil, fossil fuel, global warming, car sharing, sustainability, and renewable energy.