"The shortest line between two points is a straight line."

"The shortest distance between two points is a straight line." is a quote by Ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes of Syracuse. 

This is not so much a mathematical concept as it is simple commonsense. Ignoring potential obstacles, the shortest path between two points is a path directly towards the other point. 

Artists impression of a futuristic passenger drone. 

Flying cars already exist but their implementation is tricky because of the perceived dangers of them malfunctioning, falling out of the sky & damaging infrastructure. Whereas if a vehicle on the ground malfunctions, it can be stopped on the side of the road or crashed into an arrestor bed. 

SHORT-RANGE AIR TRAVEL

I've been searching some information on heavy-duty vertical take-off aircraft (helicopters) & found aircraft such as the Mil Mi-26 of the Soviet Union/Russia & the Boeing CH-47 Chinook. Both these aircraft have a cruise speed of over 250 km/h, both can lift over ten tons (i. e. over 70 people & their luggage) & both can travel over 400 km without refueling. They cost ten times less than the Boeing 737 most commonly used in South African flights & about the approximate price of eight buses. What I am thinking is custom made Mil Mi-26 & Boeing CH-47 Chinook aircraft with passenger seats, passenger windows, some lighter carbon fibre fittings. This could be done to make an air service that works like a bus service, using shorter range stops to pick up people at select launching pads as opposed to airports with extended runways. Just several small patches of landing pads with a separate parking lot to make an airbus stop/micro airport setup. This could be as an (air)bus service for people who need to travel 100 km to 300 km. The advantages could be; 

1) no traffic, 

2) shorter travel time & 

3) no road/rail infrastructure (& it's associated infrastructure problems) needed. 

Taking into account that these aircraft - the Mi Mi-26 & Chinook cost about US$ 3,5 million a year to maintain including fuel (that's US$ 9600 a day), a ticket for a trip could be US$ 48 per passenger for the air service to cover costs. Provided that the aircraft are carrying a full load of passengers each trip. 

If my concept of vertical-axis wind-turbine powered electric vehicles comes to reality & translated into aircraft, we could have aircraft that need less external power whether it be kerosene or electric to make a full trip. 

What I don't really understand about modern automotive manufacturing...

Growing up without much, I learnt to do without items of opulence. Today, I still appreciate minimalism & things that focus on absolute necessity rather than luxury. This taste transcends into my taste in cars. I've never really understood the concept of giant cars with massaging seats & "ambient lighting" - I understand that it must be nice but what is the core purpose of a vehicle? To get an individual from point A to point B under a certain speed limit. And as much as we appreciate supercars, they would have to travel under a national speed limit to really make sense. If your national speed limit is 120 km/h (75 mph), what use is a vehicle that goes faster than that? 

I'd like a commuter car to be three-wheeled (two front wheels & one back wheel), an electric vehicle with a speed limit of no more than 125 km/h (78 mph) & a 100 to 150 km (62 to 93 mile) 

range make sense to me. And, of course, it needs to have the capacity to carry at least 500 kg (1102 lb) for the groceries, giving friends/family a lift & moving items around with a two front seats & single back seat arrangement. Vibrating seats & touch screens can wait, this is the blueprint of my vehicles should I start a vehicle making factory. 

I wrote this blog after seeing this vehicle called the Masserschmidt Kabinen Roller & wondered why aren't there more three-wheeled, compact vehicles like the Microlino & Masserschmidt Kabinen Roller... The safety & enclosure of a motorcar with the simplicity of a motorcycle. 

Today, we have people in giant diesel vans (i. e. pick-up trucks in America) travelling alone to simply buy groceries & that's not what diesel vans were meant for. Diesel vans for me - were meant for carrying big work tools, a small workforce, construction equipment & perhaps farm animals. If your trade is not technical, manual work — my above-described vehicle (second paragraph) should suffice for a daily commuter. 

Electric vehicles for Africa

Optimal Energy Joule

How I would create a public transport system from scratch.

Public transport in South Africa is a warzone & if my plans here were to be implemented, we'd have to quell the violence & offer exclusive deals with certain drivers & transport organisations. 

But if there was nothing in place & I would have to start from scratch, this is how I would do it. 

• Bring back rail: Rail is the cheapest form of transport worldwide & reduces road traffic allowing road infrastructure to need less maintenance. It is also often the faster option. We wouldn't need high-speed trains, just typical 150 km/h modern trains for the people. 

A simple rail service like all sensible countries.

• The future is electric: We have to start with electric vehicles today & for a bonus, they could be locally-made. 

• Big buses are destroying the land: We never noticed this but big buses weigh heavily on road infrastructure & are devastating when they are involved in road accidents. So both big buses & minibuses would be replaced with midi-buses. 

A midibus would be the symbol of my national transport service after minibuses & buses are phased out.

• Sheltered bus stops: It rains, gets windy & unbearablely hot/sunny & sometimes even snows. So we need to make concrete bus stops with benches & are sheltered from the elements. This would help in; a) elders have a place to sit while waiting for transport, b) people sheltered from the elements, c) known & identifiable marked places to wait for transport. These are the only places that the national midi-bus transport service would be allowed to load & offload passengers. 

A simple sheltered, concrete bus stop like all sensible countries. 

• Low-cost meter taxis/rickshaws: Transport apps have gained popularity in recent times, there could be a national transport app where you could hail a car (affordable EV) or an electric rickshaw (the cheaper alternative). The passenger/user could chose which they want to ride in & where they want to be dropped off. 

The BYD Seagull: One of the most affordable electric vehicles in the world. A fleet of marked affordable electric vehicles would be one of the symbols of the national transport service. 

Electric rickshaws could be used for short distance travel. 

• All modes of national transport would have a card-system integrated into every vehicle where people could pay with the national transport card (for discounts), debit card or simple physical cash. Bus & train users would get a ticket as proof of payment to avoid boarding confusion. 

• The hailing transport service could run 7 days a week from 3 AM to 10 PM. The midibus & rail service could be 4 AM to 8 PM daily. 

• The state regulates the fares of transport across the land & gains revenue from it. 

• All transport vehicles would be state property.