Established alternatives for some aspects of automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

 use include public transit (bus

Bus

A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

es, trolleybus

Trolleybus

A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...

es, train

Train

A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...

s, subway

Rapid transit

A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...

s, monorail

Monorail

A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...

s, tramways), cycling

Cycling

Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...

, walking

Walking

Walking is one of the main gaits of locomotion among legged animals, and is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults over the stiff limb or limbs with each step...

, rollerblading and skateboarding

Skateboarding

Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...

.

Car-share

Carsharing

Car sharing or Carsharing is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. They are attractive to customers who make only occasional use of a vehicle, as well as others who would like occasional access to a vehicle of a different type than they use...

 arrangements are also increasingly popular – the U.S. market leader has experienced double-digit growth in revenue and membership growth between 2006 and 2007, offering a service that enables urban residents to "share" a vehicle rather than own a car in already congested neighborhoods. Bike-share systems have been tried in some European cities, including Copenhagen

Copenhagen City Bikes

Copenhagen City Bikes or Bycykler København is the bicycle sharing system of Copenhagen, Denmark. Launched in 1995 with 1,000 cycles, the project was the world's first large-scale urban bike-sharing scheme. It features specially designed bikes with parts that cannot not be used on other bikes...

 and Amsterdam. Similar programs have been experimented with in a number of U.S. Cities.

An emerging alternative is personal rapid transit

Personal rapid transit

Personal rapid transit , also called podcar, is a public transportation mode featuring small automated vehicles operating on a network of specially built guide ways...

, in which small, automated vehicles would run on special elevated tracks spaced within walking distance throughout a city, and could provide direct service to a chosen station without stops. Another possibility is new forms of personal transport such as the Segway PT

Segway PT

The Segway PT is a two-wheeled, self-balancing transportation machine invented by Dean Kamen. It is produced by Segway Inc. of New Hampshire, USA. The name "Segway" is a homophone of "segue" while "PT" denotes personal transporter....

, which could serve as an alternative to automobiles and bicycles if they prove to be socially accepted.

All of these alternative modes of transport pollute less than the conventional (petroleum-powered) car and contribute to transport

Transport

Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...

 sustainability. They also provide other significant benefits such as reduced traffic-related injuries and fatalities, reduced space requirements, both for parking and driving, reduced resource usage and pollution related to both production and driving, increased social inclusion, increased economic and social equity, and more livable streets and cities. Some alternative modes of transportation, especially cycling, also provide regular, low-impact exercise, tailored to the needs of human bodies. Public transport is also linked to increased exercise, because they are combined in a multi-modal

Intermodal passenger transport

Intermodal passenger transport involves more than one mode of transport of passengers. Some modes of transportation have always been intermodal; for example, most major airports have extensive facilities for automobile parking and have good rail or bus connections to the cities nearby. Urban bus...

 transport chain that includes walking or cycling.

The benefits of possible future car technologies, not yet in widespread use, like zero-emissions vehicle

Zero-emissions vehicle

A zero-emissions vehicle, or ZEV, is a vehicle that emits no tailpipe pollutants from the onboard source of power. Harmful pollutants to the health and the environment include particulates , hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, ozone, lead, and various oxides of nitrogen. Although not considered emission...

s over these alternatives, would be:

• Increased mobility in rural settings and in some other areas where traffic jams are not severe
• Possibly higher social status
• Overall a better provision for privacy
• Profit for the multinational firms producing cars, and possibly for their employees