Institute for Transportation

Go! Magazine (http://www.go-explore-trans.org/) is a free, not-for-profit, online magazine that produces articles about the unique, interesting, crazy, awesome, and expanding world of transportation.

Each month, Go! produces a three-part article series with either an interview with a transportation expert, a book or movie review, a blog entry from one of our staff writers, or information about transportation careers. The best part? Our articles are interesting for readers of all ages.

For February, we produced a Go! Explore article series about transportation’s evolution through time—from BCE through the Common Era (CE) to today. Everything has a history, especially transportation.

Before we were here: BCE transportation
When looking at transportation through the centuries, one thing we know for sure is that transportation had to start somewhere. Transportation that existed thousands of years ago may not look anything like it does today, but some things remain the same. Come with us as we learn about transportation that existed before the Common Era or BCE—things like dugout canoes, wooden row boats, and even chariots!

Before we were here: CE transportation
Next, we’re heading through time to the early years of the Common Era. Now, transportation is tricky, as many of the “simple” forms of transportation from back then are surprising still simple today. Come with us as we look a bit closer at transportation like the wheelbarrow, horses, and the earliest seagoing vessels. It wasn’t all “smooth sailing,” you know. Did you know that the iconic Viking vessel was nearly entirely made out of wood?

Before we were here: The New WorldWhen the explorers arrived in the “New World,” they discovered that the Native American people had their own unique modes of transportation. So what did some of these early sea-going vessels look like? Come with us as we take a closer look at the history of the canoe and European ships like the caravel and Spanish carrack. Did you know that modern humans have existed for about 200,000 years, but transportation has really only “taken off” in the last 100?

Dot’s Adventures with Transportation: Unique Transportation
“Dot’s Adventures with Transportation: Unique Transportation” is directly related to the Go! Explore series posted in June 2016, where readers learn about some rather unique forms of transportation that exist only in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Ever heard of a habal-habal?

THROWBACK: ‘Green’ transportation innovations: Autonomous pods
The future is now! Looking at the history of transportation brings up a whole new topic entirely: the FUTURE. One of the main modes of futuristic transportation has to be the self-driving “podcar,” which, although not necessarily painted “green, is an eco-friendly technology nonetheless.