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Well I do not know what the price of crude will be, but obviously the three main drivers of change are economic incentive, mature, robust technology, and political will.

These may now be coming together. As I said, "mixed approaches are the best way to go. You suggestions are good examples of this. Do not try a total, global solution - solve particular problems is ways that address the requirements of those problem's solutions. For my part, I am somewhat skeptical of the electrical, commuter car" concept, but the electrification of rail is long overdue.

The rail lines in Japan are mostly electrical so the technology is on the shelf for this aspect of heavy transportation.
I'm thinking of commuter cars that would be charged overnight with, say, a 100 mile range. People will be reluctant to give up their cars and we have a massive infrastructure dedicated to making and maintaining personal autos, so this would not be affected.
I have worked in the energy and petroleum industry since 1979 and, believe me, no one saw $50 crude coming. This past week, the WSJ reported China's petroleum consumption was growing at 15 percent a year. I don't know what India's is, but our addition to oil has forced us to do some pretty stupid things in the last 50 years. If we knew the real cost of a gallon of gas, we'd be amazed.