MicroContainers

ThoughtStorms Wiki

2) Micro-containers

One reason people drive so many short distances in cities is that they need to carry stuff around : shopping from the supermarket to home, spare clothes to change into after work or the gym, sports equipment, musical instruments etc.

All this is hard to take on public transport.

What's needed is the equivalent of "containerization" for urban transport. In particular a standard container which :

a) goes on a shopping trolley that you take around the super-market

b) can be put into a locked slot on public buses, trains and trams.

c) fits onto a standard trolley in bus and train stations and airports.

d) can be slotted into the boot (trunk) of a standardized taxi

e) can be towed on the back of a bike

Furthermore we need the technology to help people move the container from one vehicle to another. Think trolleys with arm / crane attachments that help a passenger extract the container from the train they arrived on, and then, when arriving at a taxi, lets them lift the container to be slotted into the boot.

Some design co-ordination between rail, bus and car makers could transform urban transport, allowing stuff to flow far more efficiently through the different transport networks of a city.