Before the pandemic, a typical commute may have involved choosing between walking, driving, or taking public transit. Ride-sharing apps have also allowed us to request rides in a shared car, on a bike, or even using a scooter. Walking might involve a journey that begins on a residential street and travels through bustling commercial strips, past cyclists and delivery drivers that would need to be dodged and maneuvering through busy intersections.

The pandemic altered the commute for most and changed our experience of moving through cities. Municipalities have been installing bike lanes, reducing car lanes and parking, widening sidewalks and green spaces, and creating space for electric cars.

If these changes were possible in such a short period of time, what could happen with decades of changing streets? Would public transit still exist? And what would it look like?

THE NEXT GENERATION

The way we commute has already started to change. With next generation transportation projects, public transportation is becoming more efficient by employing self-driving buses and trains and installing automatic card-ticketing systems.

Futuristic public transportation projects explore transforming cities into smart cities, addressing security and privacy concerns, creating new technical standards and piloting smart city projects, like the proposed artificial intelligence-powered campus in Chongqing, China.