Remember When Cars Were a Thing?

by Mary McInerney | Illustration by Tim Durning and Cat Bagg

We can make transportation more affordable and reduce carbon emissions. USF professors Billy Riggs and Stephen Zavestoski, experts in smart transportation and urban sustainability, walk us through the transformation of transportation.

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Illustration of SF in the future
  • The future commute includes a monorail above city streets, which are open for pedestrians and bicyclists.
  • Cities like San Francisco could convert temporary slow streets into permanent slow streets, closing them to cars. Streets should be for people — the street becomes the playground.
  • Walking and cycling are going to be predominant forms of transportation in our cities for the next 30 years.
  • Aerial electric taxis — like a drone, but able to transport people — will replace taxis and non-autonomous ridesharing vehicles.
  • Imagine commuting by autonomous Muni bus or ride-share auto — a small, lightweight electric vehicle akin to a robot. This vehicle, instead of diesel trucks, will deliver all of our brown boxes.