Transportation is changing quickly. For more than a century, most cars, trucks, ships, and airplanes have depended on petroleum fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Today, engineers, governments, and companies are working on new ways to move people and goods using less fuel and producing fewer emissions.
One important idea to remember is that the future of transportation is not just about cars. Passenger vehicles matter, but the transportation sector also includes trucks, buses, trains, ships, and airplanes. Each part of the system has different energy needs, so the future will likely include more than one solution.
Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicles, or EVs, are likely to be a major part of the future of transportation. EVs run on electricity stored in batteries, which means they do not burn gasoline or diesel in the vehicle itself.
Many countries are increasing EV adoption, but Norway has become one of the clearest examples of how quickly the transition can happen. In 2025, 95.9% of all new passenger cars registered in Norway were fully electric. In December 2025, the EV share of new car sales in Norway reached 97.6%.
Norway’s progress did not happen by accident. Long-term policies, charging infrastructure, and tax incentives helped make electric cars a practical choice for many drivers. Norway’s government has also connected transportation planning to larger climate goals and reductions in road-transport emissions.
Electrifying Trucks
Passenger cars are only one part of transportation. A large amount of energy is also used to move goods by truck. Because of this, the future of transportation also includes medium- and heavy-duty vehicles
Norway has set an especially ambitious goal for trucks. Reports on Norway’s policy state that, beginning in 2030, all new trucks are expected to be either zero-emission vehicles or vehicles powered by biogas. This is important because trucks are harder to electrify than passenger cars. Heavy trucks need large batteries, powerful charging equipment, and enough range to move cargo efficiently
At the same time, electric truck technology is improving. Governments and companies are investing in chargers, vehicle development, and demonstration projects to show that electric trucks can work in real-world settings
Sustainable Aviation Fuel
Air travel is one of the hardest parts of transportation to change because airplanes need fuels with high energy density. Batteries work well for many cars and buses, but they are much harder to use for large commercial aircraft over long distances.
Because of this, one important idea for the future of aviation is sustainable aviation fuel, often called SAF. The U.S. Department of Energy describes SAF as an aviation fuel made from biomass and waste resources that can provide performance like petroleum-based jet fuel. The Department of Energy also explains that SAF can be made from feedstocks such as corn grain, oil seeds, algae, fats, oils, greases, agricultural residues, forestry residues, and municipal solid waste
Mass Transit
Another major part of the future of transportation is mass transit. In many cases, the cleanest transportation option is not just changing the fuel in a vehicle but also moving more people at once.
Public transit already helps reduce carbon emissions by shifting some travel away from personal cars. Transit systems are also beginning to electrify their fleets. For example, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority states that it plans to convert its entire bus fleet to battery-electric buses by 2040
Electric buses can lower greenhouse gas emissions compared with buses powered by fossil fuels, but transit agencies also face challenges. They need charging infrastructure, updated maintenance facilities, and operating plans that keep buses in service while batteries are charged. This shows that the future of transportation is not just about buying new vehicles. It also requires new infrastructure and planning.
High speed rail is very common in Europe and Asia and may some day have a role in the US. As we have seen, rail is the most efficient method for transporting people. Japan has been running high speed rail for over 50 years. The bullet train travels about 120 miles/hour transporting more than 400,000 people a day. Technology exists to get lots of people from place to place quickly and efficiently.
What is next in the future of transport is not entirely certain. New developments are constantly underway including drones for delivery and possibly human transport in congested cities.
See the First-of-its-Kind 'Air Taxi' That's Set to Revolutionize Travel (4:08)
Transcript: See the First-of-its-Kind 'Air Taxi' That's Set to Revolutionize Travel (4:08)
[Sam Brock]
You're looking at liftoff of an aircraft from the future. Except, it's primed to smash expectations in the present from San Francisco to New York to Osaka, Japan, where flight demos have already stoked a major buzz around this electric powered air taxi, created by California-based Jobi that combines a verticaled accent with a mid-air transition to fixed wing flying. All through six ultra-efficient motors.
It looks like a helicopter, it looks like a plane. What is it?
[Buddy Denim]
Our lift systems all tilt forward within the cells. Now, he benefit of that, we look like a helicopter when we take off, but thenwe transition to wing-born flight.
[Sam Brock]
Lead demonstration test pilot Buddy Denim.
[Buddy Denim]
100%, you're looking at the future of aviation here.
[Sam Brock]
Took us around the plane he acknowledges gives off Jetson vibes. Even surprising ATC controllers on a recent flight.
[Air traffic controller 1]
What is that thing?
[Air traffic controller 2]
It's a Joby.
[Sam Brock]
But rest assured, is real.
Inside the aircraft, there's more than 50 different computers, all talking to one another. The pilot is still the conductor of this operation, but the computers are what's doing the heavy lifting.
[Buddy Denim]
It's one of the first few airplanes in the history where the pilot controls are not hooked to a control service on the airplane. They go to the flight control computer. The pilot actually asks for exactly what he or she wants to fly.
[Sam Brock]
The company's CEO, Joe Ben Bevert, says the air taxi which holds up to four passengers and can fly around 140 miles per hour is not meant for the 1 percenters, but for any passengers looking for a ten-minute lift to the airport.
[Joe Ben Bevert]
In terms of the price point, our target is to be competitive with ground transportation over the time. The electric propulsion on our aircraft makes these aircraft dramatically more efficient.
[Sam Brock]
Joby acquired helicopter company Blade last year and in the process, acquired it infrastructure and routes, like this one from New York's JFK to the West Side Highway in the city. But there's a big difference in acoustic footprint.
With an electric motor, there's no roar of an engine like on this helicopter. According to Joby, the air taxis are 100 times quieter, so subtle that people on the ground aren't even going to hear it.
[Buddy Denim]
We could have a conversation in a cafe, you would never hear the airplane come over.
[Sam Brock]
The FAA could grant approval in the coming year as part of a sweeping program in 12 states to streamline new technologies like these called EV-TOM.
[Sean Duffey - U.S. Secretary of Transportation]
It's going to give us different regional mobility. Where we live, where we work can fundamentally change with an EVITAL.
[Sam Brock]
The tech being explored by a number of companies that could be coming to a city near you.
[Joe Ben Bevert]
This is a game changer for our industry. Very excited about rolling out service in New York, Florida, and Texas. This is a really exciting moment for the launch of this next mode of transportation.
[Sam Brock]
So many of you at home probably wondering, what's the range on these air taxis. Right now, it's about 100 miles. Perfect for back and forth to the airport. What they do is they charge it in intervals, as passengers are getting on and off, since the battery never gets low. Also, Joby has a partnership with Uber, which means you can theoretically, at some point, order either on your Uber or Joby app, get the ride to the heliport, take the air-taxi from the heliport to the airport. They call that seamless multi-modal.
Sounds like it could be a fantastic move here for consumers. We'll find out in a matter of months.
[Savannah Guthrie]
Well.
[Sam Brock]
Back to you guys.
[Savannah Guthrie]
We give that explanation five stars.
[Carson Daily]
He's selling me, he's selling me on it.
[Savannah Guthrie]
I mean.
[Carson Daily]
Joby bought Blade. Joby's got to deal with the Uber.
[Savannah Guthrie]
Yeah.
[Carson Daily]
Sounds like they are.
[Savannah Guthrie]
But won't all of the traffic then just move to the sky? You look up and it's all these,
[Carson Daily]
Eventually
[Savannah Guthrie]
I don't love that.
[Craig Melvin]
There's a lot more space up there.
[Savannah Guthrie]
But I love innovation.
[Craig Melvin]
Would you try it out? Would you do it?
[Al Roker]
Absolutely. Why not? Sure. I mean, at least once.
[Craig Melvin]
Okay.
[Al Roker]
I still haven't got into one of those Waymo's yet. So, I don't know, we'll see.
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