The Future of Transportation

Throughout the 20th century mankind has solved many problems by speeding up life and as a result the whole planet has become a „bustling hive”. The main characteristic of this era is everything moving at a much more rapid speed than it used to. Just think about how much more time it took to buy a special book a hundred years ago by sending letters to the publishing house and of nowdays via internet or how long it took to cook your lunch in 1915 and now in 2010 made of pre-prepared ingredients.

These changes manifested quite visibly in public transportation and trucking as well. In the 19th century the most modern ways of transportation were to go by ship, cart or landau. When trains appeared, this mode of transportation became famous in a short time. Eventually, automobiles and airplanes took over the lead of the transportation industry and continues to stay at the forefront.

With new methods appearing in the system, older solutions became less and less fashionable. Landaus and carts totally dissapeared –except romantic rides in Vienna- and it is a delicate experience to go somewhere by ship these days and nost of the time long-distance journeys are made by airplane. For a while it looked like train transport would be a part of the history ending in the 21th century.

Although trains were previously thought to be out of fashion, they got another chance from Japan (Tohoku Shinkansen), France (TGV) and England (Eurostar, La Manche Tunnel). These high-speed trains entered in the competition and were greeted by travelers with open arms and minds. These lines were and are linking cities mostly within their borders, with train routes for longer journeys not being the most efficient solution.

Now there is a country planning to make a revolution in train transportation – you can bet which one it is. One of the most innovative and definitly the fastest developing land, China is planning to connect London and Beijing by a High Speed Rail Link in 2020. The rail line will fly through 17 countries at speeds reaching 200miles per hour. The whole journey will take approximately two days.

Inside the country China already uses the technique, for instance Shinghai Airport is linked with the city center by a High Speed Rail called Maglev. China incorporates their own benefits in business with the countries the rail line goes through: they will build the infrastructure in exchange for rights to natural resources in the nations that benefit from the high-speed links. At the same time, China gets a fast, efficient means to pipe them to cities within its borders and smaller, sometimes isolated nations get a high-tech, high-speed connection to the greater global economy.

There are many goals and advantages of rail transport. First of all, it is the most environmentally friendly solution, it carries many people and loads and at the same time it’s calculable. It looks like the future of transportation is in the past.

Bravery or a Death Wish?

Ed Stafford, a 34-year-old former British army captain recently returned to England from a 27-month excursion over the entire length of the Amazon river. His efforts were meant to raise awareness for deforestation in the Amazon rainforest while facing and digitally capturing the highlights and dangers of the area in his blog.


The story here is this guy's overwhelming quest to do something out of the ordinary, never done before and consequently, avant garde. 859 days of walking, fifteen pounds less and I'm sure a world of experience richer the man returned home after conquering a feat that others could only dream of.


The respect to be paid to this man should come from his bravery but does raising awareness for deforestation really call for walking the length of the Amazon? How are these two linked? Is it just a form of egoism? Does he really want to make an impact on deforestation or does he want other people to see what he has done, praise him for it and then later pay him to speak about it/write about it?

I'm conflicted. Yes, this is a very amazing accomplishment but what's the need to put your life into danger only to raise awareness to a certain area? He could have gone down to do a month long project with a tribe in the Amazon to raise awareness. If he is already a well established motivational speaker and writer (which he claims to be) why would he need to walk the entire Amazon river to gain media attention?


Some people just need these kinds of thrills. Everyone has their reasons but when does it become too much? When does it become too dangerous? When do you start writing your own death wish?

I must admit I am in awe of this guy but would like to understand his motives a bit better. Not everyone can spend two years in the Amazon-for that I commend him. Maybe I will pay to see him speak one day?

Hungary- A biker's paradise?

15-20 years ago riding a bike in Budapest meant you were a bohemian artist or a student. Many things have changed the number of bikers is increasing day-to-day and many events take place to promote and demonstrate the advantages of pedaling around the country. We can say with conviction that the hype surrounding biking all over Europe has finally arrived to Hungary as well.

In the last few years many researchers have tried to assess the Hungarian pedaling society. Most of them focus on the changes in the number of bike riders in cities and villages. A recent survey made by the Hungarian Bicycle Club claims that 47% of the entire Hungarian population over the age of 15 used bicycles for transportation in May, 2010. That means almost every second person rode that month! Interestingly, riding a bike is more common in the countryside than in Budapest: this proportion was only 18% in the capital, according to the survey. The main reason behind this phenomenon could be that a bicycle has always been a common means of transportation in smaller settlements and has not changed during the years, while in Budapest it has never been a wide-spread instrument of moving from A to B- at least not until the millenium.

Nowdays if you go around Budapest in the city center you’ll see many different types of bikers: businessmen in suits going to work, young guys doing tricks at Gödör or ladies leaving for their everyday shopping on bikes. The amount of bike users in Budapest is rising, no doubt. To measure that, an official counter was set up at the Astoria intersection in June. This machine was used to calculate the number of bikers that pass. At the end of an average day the display was around 1000 bikers. There are many movements (i.e. Critical Mass) demonstrating that there is a will to build up a biker community in Hungary.

According to another survey, the younger the respondent’s age, the more optimistic they are regarding the future of biking in Hungary. It seems promising for the youngsters. Promising because if this tendency does not stop, there will be an increasing number of people with positive attitudes among bikers. That assumes Hungary won't step away from the road that takes the country to being a bike-friendly home.