Where to Begin: Designing Transportation for Your Sci-Fi World

Transit infrastructure is complex. And with aspects that include modes of transport, environmental factors, and security, getting started can be daunting. But you only need a few aspects to create a solid foundation.

Adapting Transit for Extreme Settings: Ice, Desert, and Ocean Planets

Environment is one of the most important factors to consider for your transit infrastructure and network. Understanding where people are travelling will help you envision their world’s transportation needs.

Modes of travel. Pathways and routes. Vehicle design. All depend, at least partially, on surroundings.

There are a couple ways you can approach worldbuilding the relationship between transit and environment.

For me, it’s easiest to think about the environment first.

By the time I start thinking about how people are getting where they need to be, I’ve already made key decisions about where those people live. Imagined what kind of world their species or culture inhabits.

Or thrives in. Or endures. Depending on the narrative choices.

Look at the culture that I’m currently building for. It’s on a planet with a red dwarf star. The planet’s geography is characterized by vast ranges of short mountains. And mountain peak runoff has created a series of connected rivers and streams that run through the adjacent grasslands. This is in addition to nearby oceans.

Plus, there’s an extensive cave system within a peninsular mountain range.

So, what does this tell me about my transit build? It needs to work in dimmer light than I’m accustomed to, so any solar components will need to be adapted.

To traverse the full terrain, I’ll need modes of transport that are designed for water. Like boats.

And some transit types for caves. Trains.

Mountains, too, may need transit that’s aligned with uneven, narrow, and steep inclines. …Highland hoppers modelled after mountain goats?

Pathways and routes may include paved roads. But, I may also need railways through the caves. If the waterways are high-traffic, I’ll need some form of waterlane as well.

And vehicles may benefit from being designed to go from air to water to land in one trip.

…and don’t forget “last mile” travel. So… safe passageways for mountain biking, walking (and flying).

This particular example is pretty standard.

And if your geographies are similar to Earth, you may just need to make note of unique landforms–as I just did.

But your world’s environment and terrain may be more complicated. There are a lot of elements that can and do affect the way a transportation network is built. Including aspects such as weather, gravity, and electromagnetic forces.

So really think through what environmental hazards could slow or stop transit in your world. Record them. Then, build solutions around them. Design transit that works with them. Or use them as impediments for conflict.

And before we leave the topic of environment, I want to come back to the idea of building environment before transit.

You can build transit first–if that works best for you.

Let’s say you have your heart set on hoverboards as a mode of transportation. A reasonable micromobility choice as part of a larger network.

And if that’s what you choose, you’ll want to decide what sort of environment is needed for hoverboard infrastructure. Maybe the hoverboards travel on magnetic pathways, so you build out a planet that has special electromagnetic properties.

And maybe, because hoverboards have little shielding, your world’s environment shifts away from rainforests and frozen tundras.

Best to keep those power sources and mechanical parts safe.

Or, on the flip side, you worldbuild aggressive windstorms on one area of the planet that are treacherous for riders.

Either way, a transit system's surroundings are linked to the options you have for a transportation network build.

Once that network is built, how does it run? And how can it fail?

Complex Infrastructure: From Moving Walkways to Aerial Transit

Now that you’ve been thinking about environment, you probably have a rough idea of your transit modes and roads. That means it’s time to start thinking about how your transportation system functions.

And malfunctions.

Knowing function helps you incorporate your transit into your story. If a main character is in shipping or taxi service, for instance, understanding lane changing and traffic signals can help with slice-of-life scenes and inner turmoil.

Malfunction is more aligned with creating conflict. A late-running bus, or a broken-down car can be concerning. And power outages or even sabotage can be full plot points.

Either way, you’ll want to know about guidance, power, and safety within your network.

Let’s say your world is dominated by air traffic. For that, you’ll probably need some sort of virtual lanes. And a way for vehicles to read the lanes. Plus, a mechanism for speed and lane change management.

If everything runs on electricity or computers, your system has the advantage of a renewable resource and intuitive control with AI. On the flip side, this approach is vulnerable to computer viruses. Electricity outages. Overheating. And hardware failure.

Also, if high gravity exists on your planet, you have an interesting challenge. What happens if a car. A truck. A train. Runs out of power? Everything below could be in danger. You’ll need to think about emergency services and safety nets.

In a full build, you’ll be looking at a lot of factors when creating a system for orderly operations. This system could include guidance systems, power structures, safety controls, emergency measures, flow management, and even fare equipment.

So, to avoid becoming overwhelmed, pick one transit type, and focus on writing two sentences.

The first sentence would be structured like: This transit type runs on power and prevents accidents by using guidance systems controlled by technology.

Using the example above, that sentence becomes: This flying bus network runs on solar energy and prevents crashes by using digital partitions placed by artificially intelligent guidance systems.

Now that you know what technology is needed for the operation of a network, you can think about how it can fail or be attacked.

This is where the second sentence comes in. Its structure is something like this:

The power source can fail while the guidance systems and technology are susceptible to breaking.

So, adding on to my example: Solar panels can suffer a decrease in output due to accumulation of dirt and dust while digital partitions may become inconsistent if the artificial guidance system overloads.

Now, write these two sentences for every mode of transit in your network.

Think about moving sidewalks or citywide maglev elevators. Consider package delivery systems and passenger services for individuals. And don’t forget travel through those tricky environmental hazards from the last section.

And once you’re ready, begin imagining the boundaries that exist between different jurisdictions.

Implementing Transit Security, Checkpoints, and Border Controls

There are a lot of reasons you may want to control movements in your world. And even if you’re not restricting it, you may want to create measures for monitoring how and where people go.

Checkpoints may be related to limiting criminal activity. A shipment manifest to prove that a long-haul truck isn’t moving illicit goods.

Monitoring may help jurisdictions keep track of population use and needs. Tapping a bus pass for ridership monitoring and route adjustments.

Movement restrictions may be related to taxation and fair pricing. Toll bridges and roads to ensure that the people who use the passageway pay for the passageway.

In all these cases, you’ll want to have a logic-based border system.

And note. A “logic-based border system” is not necessarily a reasonable one.

You may not think it’s reasonable for a government to track the movements of every individual. Or to prevent people from leaving their district without express permission from seven authorized entities. But if the government is insular and characterized by paranoia? Maybe it is logical for that government to control all citizen transit.

And you may be thinking, ‘That’s great for social commentaries, but I only care about one character’s journey.’

In that case, security and checkpoints can be used as impediments. A means of keeping the protagonist from reaching their goal.

Perhaps a character wants a better life in a new country. But they need the right travel documents. Or maybe they need to enter a walled city to say goodbye to a dying relative. Or they’re actually a criminal who’s trying to escape the system that would have them imprisoned.

Even if you’re only focused on characters, freedom of movement is important. And you can ask these same questions whether you’re working on a large- or small-scale level:

Does this network interplay with any others? And what border and customs procedures exist?

How much thought you put into answering these questions will likely depend on how friendly or hostile relations are between the jurisdictions involved. Friendly nations may do little more than check ID for place of residence. But hostile borders may require full body scans and microchipping.

Remember to think outside of a typical passport situation. Small scale–like intercity borders–can be interesting to explore.

So can land. Water. Air. And atmospheric borders.

Think, too, about who’s being monitored. Everyday citizens? Criminals? Undesirables?

And if controlling movement is really important to your worldbuild, consider how the transportation authority enforces the rules you’ve laid out.

With that, you have a simplified framework for a transit worldbuild.

If you’re still feeling overwhelmed–or you’re the kind of person who learns through demonstration–my upcoming video may help.

I’m going to build a transit system for the mountainous planet I mentioned earlier. Come back in two weeks to check that out.

Until next time, stay inspired.