Will people go back to traditional transportation?

I don't think the horse and carriage will return as a main source of transport but I do think that other forms of transport will become more of a reality. Amongst the forms of transport that you mentioned is cycling, and another form that more people should hopefully use is good old fashioned - nature intend "walking." I think more people will start walking and more will also start cycling, particularly over shorter distances. This is something that should be celebrated because if more people use these forms of transport, it would mean that more people are finding some form of exercise, which which would be no bad thing. Not only do you reduce dependence on finding energy, you help people to increase their health benefits like reducing the risk of heart attacks. I am also heartened by the fact that American cities are seeing a growth in public transport. Public transport will help people become more mobile and people will be less dependent on cars. With public transport systems in place, inner city kids will have more mobility to get to places where they get a decent education. Of course all this does not mean that we should stop searching for different sources of energy. Mankind is actually quite innovative when it has to be and hopefully we'll find cleaner and more efficient sources of energy very soon. Let's bless higher oil prices for driving us to that stage.

But don't you think that public transportation also needs gasoline in order to run it? Well, we can also use electrical public transportation. But at least, we need to build such infrastructure first.

I agree. Future generations may not have a joy ride with cars. Unless, there is a new invention automobile which has the same capability with a gasoline car. By the way, why can't we use liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as fuel for automobiles? It will be much faster to go from one place to another place

Well, I think scientists have to find alternative fuel which is the same capability with gasoline and of course, it should be comfortable with consumers. I heard about Ethanol. But I don't know if it will be a future fuel.

They don't use it for cars because the police have radars and speed limits. lol But joke apart... I think they have been looking at the possibility... but it is a highly volatile explosive mixture and extremely dangerous. For instance... on the Space Shuttle... they need to turn off the oxygen a few seconds before the hydrogen to prevent a disaster. There have been alternatives to gasoline for a long time. Half of the cars in Europe are running on diesel... which is cheaper. In Australia... 25 to 30 per cent of cars are running on gaz... which is about a third of the cost of gasoline. It is just that people are slow to adapt to alternatives when those alternatives are not attractive. Many people are not confortable having a gaz tank in the boot of their car. Other people don't like gaz because it cut the power of the engine by about 25 per cent. Buying a fast car and running it on gaz... somewhat defeat the purpose of buying a fast car.

If horses were used for transportation, the cost of horse manure removal in a large city of over 1,000,000 people would be far in excess of the cost of the fuel for a public transportation system and small private cars for those who can afford them. Imagine too, the stink!

But small cars need gasoline. Don't you think so? Well, we can use new invention, the automobile. But so far, the result is still premature.

Yes, I think so. We need to change our method of transportation.