rapid transit
Driverless cars, electric vehicles and mass transit could transform cities
Three early transportation trends could soon transform the way global city dwellers get around, analysts say. The switch to electric cars, use of car sharing services and the arrival of driverless vehicles are all expected to grow substantially by 2030 -- potentially making it cleaner and easier to navigate cities around the world, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) said Tuesday in a new report. "Vehicles and the way they are used will change more in the next two decades than they have in the last 100 years," said Colin McKerracher, BNEF's head of advanced transport in London. He said the declining costs of electric-car batteries and the rapid advance of connected technologies are key reasons for the transit transformation. BNEF and consulting firm McKinsey & Company looked at how these three developments could play out in 50 cities around the world. What they found is that the projections vary based on each city's demographics and existing transportation policies.