How Will 400 Million Americans Get Around In 2043?

"Vision No. 1 is "stay the course." Keep driving as we have. In 1980, 64.4 percent of us drove to work alone; in 2000 it was 75.7 percent, according to the Transportation Research Board's recent "Commuting in America" survey by Alan Pisarski.

A car-wheeled world is what Americans choose. Argument over, say some.

Vision No. 2. We privatize. We invite the private sector to take over roads -- and then charge us.

This is the hottest new trend, discussed intensely by governors, state transportation officials and state legislators. Multibillion-dollar roadway investments by private financing firms are increasing fast. We've reached what transportation expert C. Kenneth Orski calls a critical "tipping point."

Vision No. 3? [Public Transit]. the vote of many Americans earlier this month to support new and expanded public transit. Transit proposals with cumulative value of $40 billion were approved from Rhode Island to Minnesota, Missouri to Utah to California."