Transport After the Fall

I’ve been giving transportation after the fall of civilization in the US some thought. My characters live in a neighborhood of climate-changed Seattle that has access to water in an open reservoir, but the location includes very steep hills. Let’s say by 2040 there is no access to gasoline any more, how would we get around?

Like now, many of us would still be walking and riding our bikes. Even if the grid is down, there would be some solar power and we have a lot of electric bikes and cars in Seattle already. But of course not everyone is mobile and many people couldn’t haul heavy water containers home. So I look to the future and the exisiting. Electric pickup trucks are on the way, and I would expect Seattle to be an early adopter. These could be converted to open air buses, like many of the ones I’ve experienced in places like the islands in Thailand or Indonesia. You hop on and hop off just as you need.

The vehicles could be powered by solar and wind. The fall of civilization doesn’t happen quickly, but still the infrastructure wouldn’t be there for the community to have a solar farm, instead community members have to donate some of the electricity they generate at home. A simple way would be the vehicles taking turns to be charged at the homes with solar power.

Infrastructure could be a mess, but a community could work hard to keep a ring road open - in my story’s neighborhood, it would be a loop around NE 65th, Roosevelt, NE 75th and then 25th Ave NE. That would take you past the reservoir, the graveyard, a few bars and restaurants, the market gardens of the church, the open-air market, the hospital and be within 10 minutes walk from most houses.

The job of driving the buses around, would be included in the roster of service that each member of the community has to take part in (other roles include sanitation and water, infrastructure, administration, justice, health). I would imagine it would be a plum role that would have some competition.