Government support – in the form of infrastructure investment, financing and tax incentives – has always helped boost new modes of transportation in the U.S., such as railroads, air travel and the gasoline-based auto. The same kind of support is needed to move away from today’s unsustainable carbon-based systems to more sustainable options, such as electric cars with solar-powered batteries. But so far the level of public support has been meager by comparison with the past. And just as bad, it has been intermittent in a way that increases risks and suppresses financing for innovators, says Gary Survis, a Wharton lecturer and senior fellow at Wharton’s Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership (IGEL) in this Knowledge at Wharton video report.

For more on this topic, download a copy of the IGEL report: Next Stop, Innovation: What’s Ahead for Urban Mobility

View this related video report: What’s Ahead for Urban Mobility?