Electric Cars hit the road - and what about public transport?

There's a new beast on the road - and it doesn't smell like gasoline.

At long last, electric cars are standing on their own two feet. Er, running on their own wheels. Out in Detroit, which only a few months ago was rarely in the news except in a negative context, the cool big thing at the car show was the electric car. I'm thrilled for emissions - but not so sure what this means for the future of urban planning and development.

It's hard not to think about the documentary, 'Who killed the electric car', a fabulous film that, if you were not already scared about lobbies and other controlling entities, will make you a believer in conspiracy theories. It showed how the technology - and the market - for the electric car was available years ago, but it was stopped by industry giants and their gas/oil friends who didn't want to see the revolution revolve them out of business.

Happily, that seems to be yesterday's news. This week, the Detroit auto showcased oneroad-worthy, plug-in electric car at $109,000: the Tesla Roadster. Reports suggest that by the end of 2010, the Roadster will have competition from such vehicles as the Nissan Leaf, Coda Sedan, and the Think City.

Why this sudden shift? TheObama administration's green initiatives are making this more than merely greenwash of a historically dark and dirty industry. These include: Department of Energy (DOE) loans and grants; economic stimulus funds that provide $30 billion for green energy programs; tax credits and major grants for investment in and adaptation of new batteries, afederal mandate to improve fuel efficiency to an average of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. The general climate has changed as well: there are increasing consumer concerns about global warming and peak oil, and the significant technological progress in building better batteries makes it cheaper, easier and better than ever before. Great news for sustainable development.

But I can't help but wonder about the effect this will have on trains and public transportation. Even if cars are getting greener, I still see public transportation as a more ecologically and economically sound way to go. For sustainable development to succeed, lets not forget the importance of investing in our public transportation - the electric car can only get us so far. So to speak.