But I think one of the major shifts was from using a living creature to using a machine. Perhaps, with advances in bio-engineering, it could go the other way? Perhaps we could design very efficient animals for transport, including flying, that would double as family pets? And instead of using petrol or chemicals for fuel, you could just feed them the leftovers from your family meals. Thus, it would help reduce food waste, have easy to obtain fuel, and provide a ready-made friend for the lonely.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_Nine_%28tensegrity_spher...
Can you find cases from other industries where the paradigm has evolved further from machines? E.g. GM plants that produce their own pesticides.
As energy and flight tech become cheap enough, with no exhaust blast, small footprint, highly maneuverable, etc., they will supplant wheeled vehicles for shorter and shorter trips.
Alternate transport tech also plays a role, such as Trantor-style moving sidewalks in densely populated places, etc.
Trams may sound old-fashioned, but this mode of transport is in fact more attractive today than it's ever been.
However, cost and construction time is a major hurdle to introducing trams. Tram infrastructure is expensive.
There is a cheaper, hybrid alternative called the trolleybus. It's a bus that runs on electric overhead lines so no need for tracks in the road like a tram.
Examples of the trolleybus can be found all over the world. But in many countries they fell out of favour and were scrapped.
While the trolleybus has it's disadvantages (the visual clutter of overhead lines being just one of them), maybe it also deserves a fresh appraisal?