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Three Revolutions: Steering Automated, Shared, and Electric Vehicles to a Better Future
For the first time in half a century, real transformative innovations are coming to our world of passenger transportation. The convergence of new shared mobility services with automated and electric vehicles promises to significantly reshape our lives and communities for the better—or for the worse.
The dream scenario could bring huge public and private benefits, including more transportation choices, greater affordability and accessibility, and healthier, more livable cities, along with reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The nightmare scenario could bring more urban sprawl, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and unhealthy cities and individuals.
In Three Revolutions, transportation expert Dan Sperling, along with seven other leaders in the field, share research–based insights on potential public benefits and impacts of the three transportation revolutions. They describe innovative ideas and partnerships, and explore the role government policy can play in steering the new transportation paradigm toward the public interest—toward our dream scenario of social equity, environmental sustainability, and urban livability.
Many factors will influence these revolutions—including the willingness of travelers to share rides and eschew car ownership; continuing reductions in battery, fuel cell, and automation costs; and the adaptiveness of companies. But one of the most important factors is policy.
Three Revolutions offers policy recommendations and provides insight and knowledge that could lead to wiser choices by all. With this book, Sperling and his collaborators hope to steer these revolutions toward the public interest and a better quality of life for everyone.
The dream scenario could bring huge public and private benefits, including more transportation choices, greater affordability and accessibility, and healthier, more livable cities, along with reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The nightmare scenario could bring more urban sprawl, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and unhealthy cities and individuals.
In Three Revolutions, transportation expert Dan Sperling, along with seven other leaders in the field, share research–based insights on potential public benefits and impacts of the three transportation revolutions. They describe innovative ideas and partnerships, and explore the role government policy can play in steering the new transportation paradigm toward the public interest—toward our dream scenario of social equity, environmental sustainability, and urban livability.
Many factors will influence these revolutions—including the willingness of travelers to share rides and eschew car ownership; continuing reductions in battery, fuel cell, and automation costs; and the adaptiveness of companies. But one of the most important factors is policy.
Three Revolutions offers policy recommendations and provides insight and knowledge that could lead to wiser choices by all. With this book, Sperling and his collaborators hope to steer these revolutions toward the public interest and a better quality of life for everyone.
256 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2018
26 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 9, 2019
Thought-provoking examination of how to create a more sustainable transportation system. I really liked the inclusion of key policy strategy suggestions for Chapters 1 - 6, even though some of them were a bit unrealistic. I also thought some of the suggested policy strategies were a little too dependent on the promise of Autonomous Vehicles. That technology is years, if not decades away from being a viable solution.
March 18, 2019
Sperling, among the most significant voices in the field, reminds us that the technology alone does not determine its use.
He argues that we have a choice in how we deploy robot cars. Either we will use them as we do privately owned, human-driven cars (dystopian). Or, we will think of them more as mass transit (utopian).
The upshot, it seems to me, is that we need to be carpooling.
He argues that we have a choice in how we deploy robot cars. Either we will use them as we do privately owned, human-driven cars (dystopian). Or, we will think of them more as mass transit (utopian).
The upshot, it seems to me, is that we need to be carpooling.
April 21, 2018
The three revolutions chart the dramatic changes wrought by EVs, automated driving, and internet enabled looking after 80+ years of incremental-at-best, stagnant car technology improvements. This lays out the big picture super well. Eg imagine 80 million electric chargers in China within 12 years. Wow. I wonder how much human behavior and habits will get in the way of transitioning. I do think automatic driving will be harder than predicted to get to level 5. And they missed the critical leg of solar direct charging of vehicles at rest during the day at work or fleets or community hubs as a way to prevent having to double the grid for EVs. But it’s a great set of ideas and analysis.
October 14, 2018
Very useful book about newer advances in transport and how to make the best of them, though almost entirely focussed on automobiles and the US. The chapter on transit is not necessarily good and (to my view) somewhat misleading.
February 18, 2019
A brilliant roadmap to sustainable transportation.
It’s a brilliant roadmap to sustainable transportation. If you are going to read just one book on the future transportation this is it.
It’s a brilliant roadmap to sustainable transportation. If you are going to read just one book on the future transportation this is it.
January 21, 2022
Really well-written and super engaging, which is a bit surprising for the subject area. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about autonomous vehicles/get an introduction about the topic.
October 28, 2024
Changed my perspective of how I viewed the future of an advanced automobile would be. How the three revolutions can lead to different outputs has been covered in detail which was the most interesting part of the book.
April 17, 2018
Very well researched, with actual helpful policy-pushing ideas.
June 9, 2019
Dr. Daniel Sperling discuss Three Revolutions, in this insightful book about electric, automated, and shared mobility. Dr. Sperling is eminently qualified to be the editor of this book that details alternative scenarios for the future. He is the Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at U.C. Davis, Chair of the National Academies Transportation, and shares the Nobel Peace Prize with other scientists for their 2007 IPCC report.
We have our first opportunity to create truly sustainable transportation, he emphasizes. We have over two million electric vehicles (EV) on the road, many are fueled with solar and wind energy. We have vehicle automation in most new cars which helps us avoid hitting the car ahead of us or drifting into the next lane. In the future, automated and autonomous vehicles (AV) will increasingly do all the driving, instead of drivers who might be drunk, distracted, or drowsy.
Beyond vehicles being EV and AV, the biggest transformation of our cities will be the shift from car ownership to use of on-demand mobility services, such as ridehailing Uber and dozens of competitors from Alphabet to Didi Chuxing to Grab. Electric automated vehicles and services have already diversified into goods delivery, shuttles for ride pools, bicycle and scooter sharing.
Three Revolutions goes beyond the usual optimistic and pessimistic forecasts with thoughtful details. Mobility could get much better or it could get worse. Planning, policy, and pricing will make the difference. Done well, we will have fast mobility powered with renewable energy as we travel connected cities on high-speed rail, then fast commuter rail and electric buses, with last mile services that include ride-hailing AV-EV shuttles, cars, bikes and safer walking.
Policy and pricing will shape our future. Pooled rides could be given faster access in lanes dedicated to buses and AV-EV shuttles. Parking could be expensive and scarce, or buildings could be required to have two parking spaces per occupant. Congestion zone pricing could remove gridlock. But governments could subsidize gasoline and outlaw autonomous vehicles.
We have our first opportunity to create truly sustainable transportation, he emphasizes. We have over two million electric vehicles (EV) on the road, many are fueled with solar and wind energy. We have vehicle automation in most new cars which helps us avoid hitting the car ahead of us or drifting into the next lane. In the future, automated and autonomous vehicles (AV) will increasingly do all the driving, instead of drivers who might be drunk, distracted, or drowsy.
Beyond vehicles being EV and AV, the biggest transformation of our cities will be the shift from car ownership to use of on-demand mobility services, such as ridehailing Uber and dozens of competitors from Alphabet to Didi Chuxing to Grab. Electric automated vehicles and services have already diversified into goods delivery, shuttles for ride pools, bicycle and scooter sharing.
Three Revolutions goes beyond the usual optimistic and pessimistic forecasts with thoughtful details. Mobility could get much better or it could get worse. Planning, policy, and pricing will make the difference. Done well, we will have fast mobility powered with renewable energy as we travel connected cities on high-speed rail, then fast commuter rail and electric buses, with last mile services that include ride-hailing AV-EV shuttles, cars, bikes and safer walking.
Policy and pricing will shape our future. Pooled rides could be given faster access in lanes dedicated to buses and AV-EV shuttles. Parking could be expensive and scarce, or buildings could be required to have two parking spaces per occupant. Congestion zone pricing could remove gridlock. But governments could subsidize gasoline and outlaw autonomous vehicles.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews