U.N. data suggest that in 2025, all continents except Europe will be more populous than they are now, and the world population will be over 8 billion. Urbanization rates, currently at around 50 per cent, will have grown to roughly 60 per cent. Cities now fighting urban sprawl will be more densely populated, although they will also undoubtedly be larger in area to some degree. In the North American context at least, suburban cities will have had to find a way to transport residents to commuter lines by efficient public transit or active transportation, rather than by single-passenger automobiles, or risk becoming isolated slums. Transportation in inner cities will have become so essential to their functioning that public sector government-based authorities will have become increasingly common to ensure broad, consistent service to all areas. Cities worldwide will be turning their attention to the state-of-good-repair of their growing transit infrastructure, which in some cases, will be 20 to 30 years old-another reason for government involvement, as the public demands affordable service, and a truly broad network must be in place, regardless of low profitability on less-travelled routes. System/network thinking will have superseded the line-by-line approach associated with today's commuter patterns. There will be greater convergence of transportation and communication, as electronics allow people to regularly and easily combine these two functions in their lives. Transit providers will have learned to incorporate "crowd-sourcing" as an important part of their operations, and will be challenged with managing greater daily communications with- and amongst-their riders.
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