then the railroad,

然後是鐵路

then the automobile.

爾後是汽車

Now, the greatest minds in tech are working on the next transportation revolution.

現在，許多科技龍頭正在合力創造下一個交通改革

But not everyone agrees what that will be.

但各方的意見並不一

Eye-catching proposals like the Hyperloop and self-driving cars are dominating the headlines.

最引人注目的產品原型有超迴路列車還有自駕車

But some technologists are focused on solving a much more mundane problem: congestion.

但部份技術專家正致力於解決一個更重要且發生頻繁的問題：交通阻塞

One solution could be travelling through the air rather than on the ground.

其中一個解決方法是空中運輸，取代陸地

Uber promises to have flying taxis operating by 2020 in LA, Dallas and Dubai.

Uber 允諾 2020 年在加州、達拉斯還有杜拜，開始營運飛行計程車

The company says these flying taxis which look like a cross between a drone and helicopter will ultimately be the same price as cars.

他們宣稱這些看起來像是無人飛機與直升機合體的飛行計程車，將來有一天會與一般的車子的價錢相當

It's working with Bell Helicopter and Boeing's Aurora to build them.

Uber 正與 Bell Helicopter 以及 Boeing's Aurora 合作研發這個飛行計程車

Google co-founder Larry Page has backed Kitty Hawk.

Google 的共同創辦人 Larry Page 則支持 Kitty Hawk

A flying car company that's completed more than a thousand successful flights.

一家已經成功飛行超過一千次的飛行車的公司

But manufacturers face major challenges.

但製造商面臨了巨大的挑戰

Electric aircraft require huge bursts of power for vertical takeoff, and that means large heavy batteries.

電動飛機垂直起飛需要很大的電力，這代表它需要一顆又大又重的電池

Also these aircraft have not been safety certified in the US, and aerospace rules would make it difficult to operate a large fleet in urban centers.

再且，這些飛機並未獲得美國安全認證，還有航空條例會加深它在市區大幅航駛的困難度

That's led others to look in the opposite direction, underground.

這也促使其他人往另一個方向發展，那就是地下

Elon Musk recently founded The Boring Company.

Elon Musk 近期創辦了 The Boring Company

And his vision is for an urban network of underground tunnels where cars travel on an autonomous skate at up to 150 miles an hour.

他放眼未來市區的地下通道會形成一張網絡，允許自動駕駛汽車以一小時 240 公里的速度行駛

Traveling on that would look something like this test run, carried out earlier this year.

在這張網絡上行駛會長得像這個去年所執行的測試

Traditional tunnel building can be bureaucratic and expensive.

傳統挖掘隧道的方式可能會很官僚也很貴

And digging can move slower than a snail. By reducing the tunnel diameter by half.

而且挖掘的速度比蝸牛前行還慢。如果能把隧道的直徑降一半

The company says it can dig faster and reduce costs by three to four times.

這個公司表示挖掘的速度必定能增快，成本也會減低三到四倍

The problem is there's no indication yet it can bore its narrow tunnels as quickly and cheaply as hoped.

問題是現在還沒有任何可以保證他們挖鑿這種便宜又窄的隧道的跡象

When it comes to revolutionizing transportation,

所以講到改革交通方式

there are no easy solutions.

並沒有最簡單的解決方法

So the simplest projects may be the ones that take off first.

所以大概是誰先上市誰先贏吧！