I don't have a "crazy idea" category, so this one - which I got from Live from the Third Rail - will just have to be categoryless. The idea, from a company called Bicycle Transportation Systems, is to remove air resistance for cyclists and replace it with perpetual tailwinds using tunnels and fans powered by 150hp electric motors. They call it Transglide 2000.
They promise that the system
increases urban mobility while lowering every aspect of transportation costs. People and freight will be transported at speeds faster than light rail, buses, or motor vehicles at a fraction of current cost levels. This new strategy for mass transportation will make it possible to match the carrying capacities of rail systems at an affordable cost level. By lowering capital and operating costs this transit system will generate large profits and will not require continuous subsidies.
Here's a good review of the technological aspects. As much as I'd enjoy riding in something like this - or on a grade-separated, bicycle-only system for that matter - I think we have a better chance of driving hover cars than something like this. We can't even get lights put up. We'll have to settle for tunnels like this and this.
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