Advanced Passenger Transport Technologies*

Passenger transportation has evolved toward greater reliance on light-duty vehicles. The result, especially in the United States but increasingly elsewhere, is a car-centric transportation monoculture. Conventional cars provide a high level of personal freedom and convenience but are expensive, inefficient, and damaging to the global environment. This article reviews the literature and critically examines the debate about two fundamental challenges: (a) transforming vehicles to dramatically reduce oil use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and (b) transforming the larger transportation system to expand personal mobility options and reduce their environmental and spatial footprints. The technologies and tools are at hand to achieve both. It will take a concerted effort from industry, government, and consumers to facilitate these transportation transformations.