Over the weekend I had the opportunity of driving the 2013 Ford Focus EV. This was the first electric car that I’ve ever driven and been able afford. After going through the typical test drive process, I asked myself “would I purchase this car” the answer was no. My answer was no because of my biased on EV’s, not because the car was bad, the car itself exceeded my expectations.
As much as I like the idea of alternative fuels, I still believe electric isn’t the answer. As my mind turned, I thought about the movie Minority Report, in which all the cars are on a magnetized track when they’re on the expressway. It brought my mind back to the Google self driving car. I think everybody’s problems would be solved if we stopped expanding freeways and put that money into adapting current cars to fit tracks we would build.
People would have an app that updated them on how long their trip would take based on a time chart. They would pay a toll to leave at peak times like 5pm and pay less or nothing on off peak times like 8pm.
The cost of gas would be mostly eliminated because of the tracks, and the toll would be far less than the gas they would normally spend. It would not only cut down on congestion but it would force us to create a new means of transportation. Motorcycles, Cars, Boats, Trains, and Planes have dominated transportation over the last century. The transition would force us into a new uncomfortable zone, in which we would be forced to adapt; hopefully creating a new way to get from A to B.
