Transport Revolutions

Modern societies rely upon prodigious amounts of oil for transport activity. The impacts over the near term of increasing oil scarcity and higher prices on transport will be among the major challenges facing humanity and will require a revolution in thinking about how we move people and goods.

Transport Revolutions analyzes five prior episodes of rapid and radical change in the way people and goods travel. It examines the worldwide state of transport today, especially its energy use and impacts, positive and negative. The authors then show how ample movement of people and freight could be sustained beyond 2025 with much-reduced dependence on oil, focusing on the United States and China. Preparations for the end of cheap oil include:

• Substantial use of electricity for land transport, particularly through direct powering of vehicles
• Use of wind to power water transport
• Radical changes in aviation
• Restructuring how transport is financed and managed

Written for transport professionals, those with a business interest in transport, and planners and policymakers, this book will appeal to anyone with an interest in how transport will evolve in the years ahead.

Richard Gilbert is a consultant on transport and energy and the author of numerous books, including several for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Anthony Perl is a professor of political science and urban studies at Simon Fraser University. He has co-edited and co-authored four books, including New Departures: Rethinking Rail Passenger Policy for the Twenty-First Century and The Integrity Gap: Canada’s Environmental Policy and Institutions.