Paul Comfort's new book taps industry experts about what the new decade could bring

Paul Comfort's new book, “The Future of Public Transportation”, was released March 1, and is described as a comprehensive work on the future of public mobility. 

The book is available for pre-order online in e-book format on Amazon and for the Kindle for $0.99 during the first two weeks of March.

In this book, 40 top transit leaders, futurists and associations contributed chapters with their view of what’s to come in this new decade of the 2020s for public mobility. For those in government and the public transit industry or those affected by it, the book examines the transformations coming this decade to North American cities and the public transportation systems that serve them and will allow readers to become more informed and ready for these changes.

In the next few years, technology enhancements will produce and expand game changing new mobility options such as autonomous vehicles on regular bus routes and Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) smart phone apps, allowing passengers to plan, pay for and subscribe to a full menu of traditional public transit and private microtransit options for their travel. Cities will further regulate and optimize the rampant expansion of e-bikes and e-scooters. Mobile public transit fare paying options will expand including allowing the use of not only cell phone and tap and go credit cards but even wearable fare payment bracelets, necklaces and watches.

Uber and Lyft have now entered the public mobility marketplace and are supplementing or replacing public transit services for many. Transit fleets are becoming greener, shifting to alternative fuels like electric or hydrogen. Large multi-national firms are transforming how people build and operate new rail and other capital projects through Public Private Partnerships (P3). Hyperloop and air taxis are looking more like science than fiction. Cities are becoming “smart” and eliminating traffic in the public square or charging for its usage in peak times. Most transit software is moving to the cloud and privately-owned electric automobiles could be the autonomous taxicabs of tomorrow.

All these trends and innovations in technology and business models are explored in depth in this book with the collaboration of thought leaders, and the major companies and transit CEOs that are creating and utilizing them.