One of my favorite all time future travel modes is the space elevator, Arthur C Clarke wrote about it in his 1979 The Fountains of Paradise, and scientists and engineers have believed for many decades that one day we will be able to build a space elevator that we can travel the 36000 kilometres from down here to a space station or hotel up there (most probably a 5 day journey).

As strange as this may seem Japanese firm Obayashi is investing in it and exploring nano fibre carbon as perhaps being the game changing technology that allows us to finally build it.

And back here on earth, for the first time in 130 years we’re changing our approach to transport away from a one car per person modality, to instead not owning any means of transport, but rather seeing mobility as a service (MAAS) and allowing technology to connect us with the best and most efficient means of transport depending on where we’re going, when we need to be there and how we prefer to travel.

How might the logistics industry respond to this new on-demand world?

Do we need all the highways and byways we’re building in a future world of autonomous vehicles?

Will hyperpersonalised mobility choices do away with the need for mass public transport?