Cheddar's Crystal Ball: The Road Ahead for Travel and Transportation
*By Hope King, Tamara Warren, and Amanda Weston*
This year marked the first voyage for Cheddar's weekly series Cheddar Rides, covering the changes happening in transportation and the future of getting from here to there. To celebrate the last episode of its inaugural year, Rides is looking at the road ahead.
Here are our top predictions for what to expect from the travel industry in 2019:
**3. Self-driving will continue to make big headlines**
This year marked Waymo's launch of a robo taxi fleet in Arizona and Uber's reinstated license to test self-driving cars in Pittsburg, Pa. The desire to get autonomous vehicles up and running will drive car makers and tech companies to [team up](https://cheddar.com/videos/ford-and-argo-team-up-with-walmart-postmates-on-self-driving-delivery), as Ford and Walmart did with Postmates and Argo AI to explore delivery via self-driving cars in Miami-Dade County, Fla.
One big question is whether Apple will enter the race. The tech giant has recently hired former Tesla employees. Perhaps 2019 will be the year Apple sheds light on the work it's doing behind closed doors.
**2. Cities will start to take mobility seriously**
More charging stations, scooter and bike lanes, and apps for every mapping service imaginable are on the way. But the planning to accommodate innovations like electric cars do come with [some challenges](https://cheddar.com/videos/what-the-electric-car-boom-means-for-city-power) when it comes to infrastructure.
**1. Someone will go to space (who is not an astronaut)**
The new space race is accelerating. Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic, made history in December by sending two test pilots to space aboard the SpaceShipTwo. It marked the first time a commercial craft designed to carry passengers reached the U.S. definition of space ー an altitude of 50 miles. Branson said he plans to become the ship's first passenger by the middle of 2019, with other tourists following soon after.
But Branson is far from alone in this endeavor. Amazon ($AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos said he hopes to send his own batch of tourists into space next year.
Finally, Elon Musk's SpaceX has indicated it intends to send people to the moon in 2023.
Thanks for joining us on this crazy ride! Cheddar Rides moves to a new time in 2019. Tune in for the first episode of the new year Wednesday, January 2 at 3:00 p.m. EST.
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