Electric Pods to Move Freight

Here’s a solution for the truck driver shortage—Eliminate the tractor. Then you don’t need drivers—Hence no more driver shortage.

Of course, that’s a drastic solution, far into the future. But the University of Arkansas recently hosted a conference which proposed a freight shuttle system with no drivers as one answer to current transportation problems.

Cranes would lift shipping containers directly from ships onto electric shuttle cars, called ‘pods’, which would run twenty- four hours a day, taking containers inland from ports to terminals. Estimates place the cost of the automated system at about ten cents a mile per container. Designers of the pod system emphasize the security of the freight and low environmental costs, as well as the dependability of the electric motors.

The freight pods could operate within a highway median and transport six thousand containers daily. Of course, then the containers would have to be taken from the inland terminals to final destination. So truckers would be back in the picture, just waiting somewhere outside the port city limits. So what do you think? Would a pod system ease the port city traffic that much? Would this system reduce interstate traffic significantly? Do you see a possible future with no trucks within any city’s limits ? If you’re a container hauler how is this going to effect you? And what about the over the road trucker, is this going to be a benefit or not?

Something to think about …