Small Vehicle Transit "positive disruptive effect"

Small vehicle transit's positive disruptive effect on human mobility

Small vehicle transit exists on large scale in the developing world right now. There are over 430 million cyclists and 120 million electric bicyles in China alone and networked bicycle systems are rapidly emerging in the developed world including Paris, Germany, Montreal, with the world's largest containing 40,000 bikes in Hangzhou, China. While existing public bicycle systems provide a certain amount of automation of access, parking, payment, etc. using credit card, global positioning system (GPS), and cell phone technology, more advanced systems will provide a certain amount of automated operation of the vehicles themselves with not only improved ease-of-use but, perfomance and safety -- on scale with high speed large vehicle transit in the form of trains (Japan's "Bullet Train" is reported as having not a single fatality in 40 years of operation) -- such as the New Zealand Shweeb adventure park system (capable of human-power-only 56 mph) (www.shweeb.com). And, a diversity of advanced design of vehicles will extend accessibility to the broadest spectrum of the population including the disabled, women with children, the elderly, and the just plain lazy.

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