Untitled - Ministerstwo Rozwoju Regionalnego

economic development. In this diagnosis, the deficiencies in the development of
the existing transport systems should be grouped as follows: (a) symptoms of
technological stagnation (conservatism); (b) distortions in technology and attitudes
(pathologies); (c) excessively ambitious innovation efforts, inconsistent
with the current level of civilisation and development.
A basic reference point for the creation of transport innovation is the situation
in the most economically advanced countries. For the developing nations,
the large-scale replacement of traditional transport means (city rickshaws, pack
or cart animals) with motor transport, commonly used in Europe, North America
and Japan, does not mean innovation, but classical adaptation and modernisation.
An innovative challenge is a vision of what new can be done which is
different from the solutions currently considered to be most advanced in the
world.
A symptom of technological stagnation in the transport of the developed nations
is the excessive reliance on the internal combustion engine. Road vehicles,
ships and aeroplanes alike have so far been propelled by combustion engines
alone; it is only rail transport that has used stationary electric power supply to
a greater extent. This could have been tolerated until the threat of global oil depletion
emerged. The proven deposits of crude oil (feasible for extraction) globally
amount to 160-181 bn tonnes, while average global output stands at 3.5 bn
tonnes annually. This means oil will run out in a matter of 46 to 52 years 9 . The
economy (transport inclusive) must gradually make a shift to renewable energy
sources (RES) like biomass, hydropower, wind, solar, geothermal, tidal power
and others.
Another symptom of technological stagnation in transport is the heavy reliance
on traffic based on the wheel. It might seem that the invention of the wheel
has ultimately solved the problem of moving efficiently on a flat land surface.
This efficiency, however, is ensured not only by the wheel, but also by good
quality of the road on which it is rolling, and the construction of a dense network
of roads is both costly and time-consuming. Cheaper transport could be
provided, without the costly road infrastructure, if an efficient way of sliding,
hovering or moving otherwise were invented. Or we might go towards innovative
road building technologies, against the drift of accepted engineering, geological,
material and environmental stereotypes.
Yet another example is the reliance on the concept that passengers or cargo
should be moved in mobile, close compartments, namely the vehicles. In the
worst case there is a duplication of these compartments – in intermodal technologies
– leading to an increase in the material used, the weight of the loading
units and in the cost involved. In many cases, getting rid of the vehicle is not
possible, but a reduction in its weight would be a significant improvement. The
9 See: World Proved Reserves of Oil and Natural Gas, Most Recent Estimates. http://www.eia.
doe.gov/emeu/international/reserves.html.
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