Freedom Transit - will solve three major worldwide issues:
· Traffic congestion
· The growing worldwide demand for oil
· Global warming caused by transportation
Traffic Congestion
According to the US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration traffic congest cost the US in 2003 $63 billion in wasted time and extra fuel.
Demand for highway travel by Americans continues to grow as population increases, particularly in metropolitan areas. Construction of new highway capacity to accommodate this growth in travel has not kept pace. Between 1980 and 1999, route miles of highways increased 1.5 percent while vehicle miles of travel increased 76 percent. The Texas Transportation Institute estimates that, in 2003, the 85 largest metropolitan areas experienced 3.7 billion vehicle-hours of delay, resulting in 2.3 billion gallons in wasted fuel and a congestion cost of $63 billion (Source: 2005 Urban Mobility Report, TTI). And traffic volumes are projected to continue growing. The volume of freight movement alone is forecast to nearly double by 2020. Congestion is largely thought of as a big city problem, but delays are becoming increasingly common in small cities and some rural areas as well.
Congestion results when traffic demand approaches or exceeds the available capacity of the system. While this is a simple concept, it is not constant. Traffic demands vary significantly depending on the season of the year, the day of the week, and even the time of day. Also, the capacity, often mistaken as constant, can change because of weather, work zones, traffic incidents, or other non-recurring events.
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/congestion/
The Freedom Transit Solution is an automated system which has 7 times the capacity of a single lane of interstate freeway. Unlike current freeway travel, automated travel is at a constant speed where the volume of traffic does not impact the speed of travel. The automated system knows the route and destination of all vehicles in the system and can make alternate routing available. Individual vehicles may queue at access points but once in the system the travel time will always be the same no matter the traffic load. Even when maintenance is required on the automated roadway, traffic is routed to a third lane without traffic slowdown. Traffic congestion is further lessoned by Freedom Transits use of separate automated roadways; one for car and light truck use and another separate heavy-haul freight system for tractor trailers.
The Growing Worldwide Demand for Oil
World oil demand to hit record high this year: IEA
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON | Tue Apr 13, 2010 6:39am EDT
(Reuters) - Global oil demand will hit a record high this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday, revising up consumption estimates as the world economy recovers from recession. The Paris-based adviser to industrialized economies raised its forecast for world oil demand growth this year to 1.67 million barrels per day (bpd), up 100,000 bpd. The agency said in its monthly Oil Market Report that world oil demand would reach an average of 86.60 million bpd this year, up from 84.93 million in 2009.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/04/13/us-iea-idUSTRE63C1CV20100413
The use of petroleum products as vehicle fuels is classified as "transportation" use. In the United States, in contrast to other regions of the world, about 2/3 of all oil use is for transportation, as shown in the graph at bottom of page. (In most of the rest of the world, oil is more commonly used for space heating and power generation than for transportation.) Gasoline, in turn, accounts for about 2/3 of the total oil used for transportation in the United States. Other petroleum products commonly used for transportation include diesel fuel (used for trucks, buses, railroads, some vessels, and a few passenger autos), jet fuel, and residual fuel oil (used for tankers and other large vessels).
The developed economies use oil much more intensively than the developing economies, and Canada and the United States stand almost alone in their consumption of oil per capita (see graph at bottom of page). For instance, oil consumption in the United States and Canada equals almost 3 gallons per day per capita. (The difference is these countries' transportation sectors, with their dependence on private vehicles to travel relatively long distances.) Oil consumption in the rest of the OECD equals 1.4 gallons per day per capita. Outside of the OECD, oil consumption equals 0.2 gallons per day per capita.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/analysis_publications/oil_market_basics/demand_text.htm
The Freedom Transit Solution is to power transportation with electricity from two sources, solar power and excess utility power. By converting all land based transportation to electric power the US demand for oil would be reduced by about 2/3. If China and India used Freedom Transit they would not have to build a highway system and they could move directly to electric vehicles. China and India could create a more efficient transportation system without creating demand for oil and its associated global warming emissions. It would be similar to what happened to telecommunications when third world countries jumped to cell phones bypassing land lines.
The global warming caused by transportation
According to Department of Energy research conducted at Pacific National Laboratory, 84% of existing vehicles could be switched over to plug-in hybrids without requiring any new grid infrastructure.[20] In terms of transportation, the net result would be a 27% total reduction in emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, a 31% total reduction in nitrogen oxides, a slight reduction in nitrous oxide emissions, an increase in particulate matter emissions, the same sulfur dioxide emissions, and the near elimination of carbon monoxide and volatile organic compound emissions (a 98% decrease in carbon monoxide and a 93% decrease in volatile organic compounds).[21] The emissions would be displaced away from street level, where they have "high human-health implications."[22]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle#Electricity_sources
Internal combustion engine vehicles are responsible for the vast majority of pollutants that plague urban areas today. Studies of the sources of air pollution have shown that transportation accounts for the majority of nitrogen oxide (54%) and carbon monoxide (89%) emissions in the United States [1]. Furthermore, internal combustion engines are also believed to be one of the largest single sources of carbon dioxide (28%) emissions.
http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~wilkins/writing/Samples/policy/voytishlong.html
“Electric cars could be a game-changer in the effort to wean our country off of oil and tackle global warming,” said Nathan Willcox, PennEnvironment’s Energy & Clean Air Advocate. “Now, with the auto industry in transition, we must seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to move plug-in cars into the fast lane.”
PennEnvironment was joined by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, Philadelphia City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, and Axion Power International, Inc. in releasing today’s white paper.
The new PennEnvironment white paper, entitled Plug-in Cars: Powering America Toward a Cleaner Future, answers many questions about plug-in vehicles and lays out a strategy for how to increase the number of electric vehicles on the road. Key points of the paper include:
· If half of the light vehicles in the United States were electric vehicles powered by completely clean electricity in 2030, total fleet emissions of global warming pollution would be reduced by 62 percent.
· Powering a car on electricity would result in 93 percent less smog-forming volatile organic compounds and 31 percent less nitrogen oxide
emissions than powering a car on gasoline.
· If three-fourths of American cars, pick-up trucks, SUVs and vans were electric, oil use would be reduced by about one-third.
· Operating costs of plug-in cars are likely to be significantly lower than those of gasoline-powered cars. Electricity costs three to five cents per
mile with average electric rates, or the equivalent of $0.75 to $1.25 per gallon of gasoline.
· Utilities can structure electricity prices so that it is cheaper to charge cars at times of the day when there is lower electric demand, ensuring that
a large number of plug-in cars do not put a strain on the utility.
http://www.environmentmaryland.org/reports/global-warming/global-warming-program-reports/charging-ahead-curbing-oil-consumption-with-plug-in-cars
The Freedom Transit Solution uses solar power to provide the energy for the electric cars while on the automated roadway. This power is generated by covering the roof of the roadway and the access stations with solar panels. Power studies indicate sufficient power would be generated to handle all of the electric vehicles during daylight hours. Utility power would be secondary and handle night travel loads.
The automated roadway powers the vehicles while traveling and charges the vehicles batteries. This enables the use of pure electric vehicles if the system is large enough. The installation plan for Freedom Transit starts with high density corridors and as these are completed, a portion of the revenue generated will be used to expand the system. Eventually and entire region or country will be covered.
Advances in solar power generation can be incorporated into the system. As more efficient PV solar panels become available they will first be used for new construction and then as replacement for old panels. Continuing to improve the power generation will reduce the demand for utility power. New utility power generation is also expected to reduce green house gases as new less polluting power plants are built and old ones upgraded.
Converting to electric cars alone would mean much of the emissions saving would be lost by generating the power in old style power plants with high emission. Also nothing would be done to lessen traffic congestion. Freedom Transit solves all these problems by enabling electric cars, providing much of the power from solar, and providing fast, safe, low cost travel.
· Traffic congestion
· The growing worldwide demand for oil
· Global warming caused by transportation
Traffic Congestion
According to the US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration traffic congest cost the US in 2003 $63 billion in wasted time and extra fuel.
Demand for highway travel by Americans continues to grow as population increases, particularly in metropolitan areas. Construction of new highway capacity to accommodate this growth in travel has not kept pace. Between 1980 and 1999, route miles of highways increased 1.5 percent while vehicle miles of travel increased 76 percent. The Texas Transportation Institute estimates that, in 2003, the 85 largest metropolitan areas experienced 3.7 billion vehicle-hours of delay, resulting in 2.3 billion gallons in wasted fuel and a congestion cost of $63 billion (Source: 2005 Urban Mobility Report, TTI). And traffic volumes are projected to continue growing. The volume of freight movement alone is forecast to nearly double by 2020. Congestion is largely thought of as a big city problem, but delays are becoming increasingly common in small cities and some rural areas as well.
Congestion results when traffic demand approaches or exceeds the available capacity of the system. While this is a simple concept, it is not constant. Traffic demands vary significantly depending on the season of the year, the day of the week, and even the time of day. Also, the capacity, often mistaken as constant, can change because of weather, work zones, traffic incidents, or other non-recurring events.
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/congestion/
The Freedom Transit Solution is an automated system which has 7 times the capacity of a single lane of interstate freeway. Unlike current freeway travel, automated travel is at a constant speed where the volume of traffic does not impact the speed of travel. The automated system knows the route and destination of all vehicles in the system and can make alternate routing available. Individual vehicles may queue at access points but once in the system the travel time will always be the same no matter the traffic load. Even when maintenance is required on the automated roadway, traffic is routed to a third lane without traffic slowdown. Traffic congestion is further lessoned by Freedom Transits use of separate automated roadways; one for car and light truck use and another separate heavy-haul freight system for tractor trailers.
The Growing Worldwide Demand for Oil
World oil demand to hit record high this year: IEA
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON | Tue Apr 13, 2010 6:39am EDT
(Reuters) - Global oil demand will hit a record high this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday, revising up consumption estimates as the world economy recovers from recession. The Paris-based adviser to industrialized economies raised its forecast for world oil demand growth this year to 1.67 million barrels per day (bpd), up 100,000 bpd. The agency said in its monthly Oil Market Report that world oil demand would reach an average of 86.60 million bpd this year, up from 84.93 million in 2009.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/04/13/us-iea-idUSTRE63C1CV20100413
The use of petroleum products as vehicle fuels is classified as "transportation" use. In the United States, in contrast to other regions of the world, about 2/3 of all oil use is for transportation, as shown in the graph at bottom of page. (In most of the rest of the world, oil is more commonly used for space heating and power generation than for transportation.) Gasoline, in turn, accounts for about 2/3 of the total oil used for transportation in the United States. Other petroleum products commonly used for transportation include diesel fuel (used for trucks, buses, railroads, some vessels, and a few passenger autos), jet fuel, and residual fuel oil (used for tankers and other large vessels).
The developed economies use oil much more intensively than the developing economies, and Canada and the United States stand almost alone in their consumption of oil per capita (see graph at bottom of page). For instance, oil consumption in the United States and Canada equals almost 3 gallons per day per capita. (The difference is these countries' transportation sectors, with their dependence on private vehicles to travel relatively long distances.) Oil consumption in the rest of the OECD equals 1.4 gallons per day per capita. Outside of the OECD, oil consumption equals 0.2 gallons per day per capita.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/analysis_publications/oil_market_basics/demand_text.htm
The Freedom Transit Solution is to power transportation with electricity from two sources, solar power and excess utility power. By converting all land based transportation to electric power the US demand for oil would be reduced by about 2/3. If China and India used Freedom Transit they would not have to build a highway system and they could move directly to electric vehicles. China and India could create a more efficient transportation system without creating demand for oil and its associated global warming emissions. It would be similar to what happened to telecommunications when third world countries jumped to cell phones bypassing land lines.
The global warming caused by transportation
According to Department of Energy research conducted at Pacific National Laboratory, 84% of existing vehicles could be switched over to plug-in hybrids without requiring any new grid infrastructure.[20] In terms of transportation, the net result would be a 27% total reduction in emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, a 31% total reduction in nitrogen oxides, a slight reduction in nitrous oxide emissions, an increase in particulate matter emissions, the same sulfur dioxide emissions, and the near elimination of carbon monoxide and volatile organic compound emissions (a 98% decrease in carbon monoxide and a 93% decrease in volatile organic compounds).[21] The emissions would be displaced away from street level, where they have "high human-health implications."[22]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle#Electricity_sources
Internal combustion engine vehicles are responsible for the vast majority of pollutants that plague urban areas today. Studies of the sources of air pollution have shown that transportation accounts for the majority of nitrogen oxide (54%) and carbon monoxide (89%) emissions in the United States [1]. Furthermore, internal combustion engines are also believed to be one of the largest single sources of carbon dioxide (28%) emissions.
http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~wilkins/writing/Samples/policy/voytishlong.html
“Electric cars could be a game-changer in the effort to wean our country off of oil and tackle global warming,” said Nathan Willcox, PennEnvironment’s Energy & Clean Air Advocate. “Now, with the auto industry in transition, we must seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to move plug-in cars into the fast lane.”
PennEnvironment was joined by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, Philadelphia City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, and Axion Power International, Inc. in releasing today’s white paper.
The new PennEnvironment white paper, entitled Plug-in Cars: Powering America Toward a Cleaner Future, answers many questions about plug-in vehicles and lays out a strategy for how to increase the number of electric vehicles on the road. Key points of the paper include:
· If half of the light vehicles in the United States were electric vehicles powered by completely clean electricity in 2030, total fleet emissions of global warming pollution would be reduced by 62 percent.
· Powering a car on electricity would result in 93 percent less smog-forming volatile organic compounds and 31 percent less nitrogen oxide
emissions than powering a car on gasoline.
· If three-fourths of American cars, pick-up trucks, SUVs and vans were electric, oil use would be reduced by about one-third.
· Operating costs of plug-in cars are likely to be significantly lower than those of gasoline-powered cars. Electricity costs three to five cents per
mile with average electric rates, or the equivalent of $0.75 to $1.25 per gallon of gasoline.
· Utilities can structure electricity prices so that it is cheaper to charge cars at times of the day when there is lower electric demand, ensuring that
a large number of plug-in cars do not put a strain on the utility.
http://www.environmentmaryland.org/reports/global-warming/global-warming-program-reports/charging-ahead-curbing-oil-consumption-with-plug-in-cars
The Freedom Transit Solution uses solar power to provide the energy for the electric cars while on the automated roadway. This power is generated by covering the roof of the roadway and the access stations with solar panels. Power studies indicate sufficient power would be generated to handle all of the electric vehicles during daylight hours. Utility power would be secondary and handle night travel loads.
The automated roadway powers the vehicles while traveling and charges the vehicles batteries. This enables the use of pure electric vehicles if the system is large enough. The installation plan for Freedom Transit starts with high density corridors and as these are completed, a portion of the revenue generated will be used to expand the system. Eventually and entire region or country will be covered.
Advances in solar power generation can be incorporated into the system. As more efficient PV solar panels become available they will first be used for new construction and then as replacement for old panels. Continuing to improve the power generation will reduce the demand for utility power. New utility power generation is also expected to reduce green house gases as new less polluting power plants are built and old ones upgraded.
Converting to electric cars alone would mean much of the emissions saving would be lost by generating the power in old style power plants with high emission. Also nothing would be done to lessen traffic congestion. Freedom Transit solves all these problems by enabling electric cars, providing much of the power from solar, and providing fast, safe, low cost travel.