Please forgive this wordy post, but I must indulge my inner LEED's geek mode, or I will 'splode
This concept of free transport and roads is an excellent one as far as reducing air pollution, wear and tear on surface streets and highways, increasing commerce and employment, and taking a rather large budget strain off the shoulders of poor people, seniors, and students. But until a universal way of augmenting free or low cost energy into the running of trains and buses is implemented, it will be very difficult to pass the legislative process.
We have had the tech to do this for years, however;
As you know, the farther an electric charge travels down a wire or third rail, the more power is lost to impedance. Since we have lithium batteries, and even better - super capacitors - to hold and store generated electricity, just retrofit the trains and buses to have fuel cell based motors and super capacitors/batteries, or at least add in a compact fuel cell assist motor package at first , and install the new flexible, plastic coated, high efficiency solar panels on all the bus tops and roofs of train cars, including all freight containers.
There are literally millions of standard freight containers around the world. If they were all eventually fitted with panels and storage capacitors or batteries, it adds up to an incredible amount of power generation in total. Sure, the containers are shaded for periods while stacked aboard freight ships, but so what? Once fitted, these sheet-thin, super tough PV panels are just there generating and storing energy very often and for long periods. The way the containers are designed, the panel will not be in the way or damaged as they are sheet metal thin and lay flat on the roof, below the level of the stacking pins and channels. When the containers are linked and bolted down aboard ship, or hitched up in a train, wiring attached to the sides of the interlocking haul pins, struts and channels allows drawing of that electricity into the grid. Once linked into a train, the panels augment the trains diesel/electric engine, reducing the fuel costs very appreciably - making the rail road companies happy to oblige.
Commuter rail systems using PV car roof panels can then lower the voltage on the third rails, or better yet, install insulated power cabling with conduction patches every ten meters or so. That will save current loss. There are also incredible amounts of room for PV panels or HV compact turbines mounted on 4 meter tall masts along the right-of-ways and track ballast embankments. You may be aware that except for rush hour, most commuter rail cars are sidelined for the greater part of the day - so they would be collecting and generating power but not using it. The same goes for buses - most are sidelined at depots in between rush hours. Adding in solar convection turbine generator towers and/or lots of compact spiral vane HV wind turbines on flat roofs all over the facility buildings in the depots, and along the railway overpasses...well, only during windless nights will the diesel or propane or biofuel assist motors that back up the fuel cells be in full use.
This is just a start, and it could easily cut fuel use down to 30% or less of what is required now.
