Transportation

In the latest episode of The Ongoing Transformation, Matthew N. Eisler talks about the complex history of electric vehicle development and adoption, how a powerful metaphor invited new players into car manufacturing, and what the electric car revival might mean for the built environment.

In the early 2000s, a metaphor borrowed from consumer electronics helped electric vehicle enthusiasts, Silicon Valley engineers, and policymakers reinvent the automobile.

Perfect should not be the enemy of the good: reducing American vehicle emissions will require policies that support a variety of alternatives to fossil fuel-burning, nonhybrid vehicles.

In the latest episode of The Ongoing Transformation, Brian Sherlock explains what’s wrong with American buses, and how a redesign could make for a better urban future.

Despite much political wrangling over what constitutes “infrastructure,” the Biden administration plans to dedicate a significant portion of the overall proposed funding to surface transportation infrastructure, including railroads, public transportation, and highways. A handful of key changes in current funding policies could greatly magnify the benefits to the American public and make it truly transformational.  

As more walkers, bikers, and scooter riders take to urban streets, traffic safety engineers need to adopt forward-looking strategies to protect them from being hit by cars.

Despite Tesla’s success, Americans have been slower to buy EVs than consumers in China and Europe.

Why it’s time for the United States to get serious about industrial policies.

In June 2004, a westbound Union Pacific Railroad freight train in Macdona, Texas, struck the midpoint of an eastbound BNSF Railway Company freight train as it was leaving the main line to enter a parallel siding. The derailment caused a car loaded with pressurized, liquefied chlorine to be punctured, creating a cloud of chlorine gas more than a quarter-mile in diameter.

When Americans talk about automation, they tend to ask first how many jobs are at risk, or more broadly, how many jobs will there be, who will do them, and where will they be located. These are the wrong questions.

US buses used for public transport are expensive and poorly designed—and now, faced by the challenge of COVID-19, the pared-down engineering resources of the industry have been struggling, unsuccessfully, to make necessary improvements.