Although public transportation vehicles reduce our carbon footprint, personal transportation vehicles are still indispensable today. Meanwhile, environmentally friendly vehicles in urban transportation have also started to become increasingly common in recent years.

The transportation sector has been growing since the invention of the wheel with constant developments and advancements in technology, which we see particularly in the public transportation systems of crowded metropolises.

So, let's take a look at the history and development of some means of transportation that we use today, including electric, air, land and sea methods of transportation, some with one wheel, some without steering wheels and some small enough to fit in a bag.

Bikes

Historians are unable to reach a full consensus about the invention of the bicycle, the most well-known fuel-free personal transportation vehicle, and the dates put forward are debatable.

The bike was not invented by a single inventor but emerged as a result of many different efforts throughout history.

The first large-scale mass production of bicycles was carried out by the "Michaux Company" – founded by 19th-century French blacksmith Pierre Michaux who furnished parts for the carriage trade in Paris. The company was producing 140 bikes a year at one point in history.

The interest in the bicycle attracted the attention of numerous countries of the period.

In the second half of the 1800s, the French Ministry of Defense supported the production of bicycles, and the bicycles manufactured in 1871 were used in the war against Germany at that time.

There are many varieties when it comes to bicycles, such as road, mountain, electric, tour, city, off-road, tandem, horizontal and work bikes.

This means of transportation, which employs the use of human energy, found itself a home in transportation, entertainment and also sports.

Cycling races consist of several different categories.

The first bicycle race was held on May 31, 1868, in the Parc de Saint-Cloud, Paris, as a 1,200-meter (3,937-foot) race. This race was won by an expatriate Englishman named James Moore, who rode a wooden bike with iron wheels.

Cycling is popular around the world, but is a much more popular sport, especially in Europe.

Skating

Roller skating is a means of transportation – if one wants to call it that – with wheels attached beneath the lower base which allows the person to move fast when worn.

Today, it is used for many purposes such as sports, exercise and leisure. Companies produce roller skates in many different models and designs.

The Dutch have been in the habit of moving on roller skates on the roads since the 18th century.

Belgian musical instrument maker Joseph Merlin went to England in 1760 and introduced his new invention, roller skating, at a distinguished meeting in London.

He won the attention and admiration of the guests by playing the violin and roller skating.

However, when he crashed into a mirror because he couldn't stop and turn, the mirror and violin shattered, and he was seriously injured.

New Yorker James L. Plimpton invented the rubber-cushioned, quad-roller skate in 1863. The wheels of the first skates were made of boxwood and were easily broken.

Later, steel roller skates that rotate on ball bearings were made.

In 1829, 10 years after roller skating was invented in France, the first roller skate race was held in England.

In various championships held in speed and figure skating, the greatest distance traveled by roller skating in an hour is 45 kilometers (28 miles), and the record speed reached is 60 kph (37 mph).

The sport of roller skating first became popular in England in the 1870s. But this interest only lasted a few years. The sport of roller skating, which received the greatest attention between 1909 and 1912, almost disappeared with the development of cinema and the outbreak of World War I; It was only revived in 1929.

In the 1970s, skateboards, similar to small surfboards with wheels, were widely used by young people everywhere.

Kick scooter

A kick scooter – also referred to as a push-scooter or scooter – is a human-powered street vehicle with a handlebar, deck and wheels propelled by a rider pushing off the ground with their leg.

Today, the most common scooters are made of aluminum, titanium and steel. Some kick scooters made for younger children have three to four wheels, but most common ones have two wheels and are made of plastic and don't fold.

Kick scooters have been handmade in industrial urban areas in Europe and the United States since the 1920s or earlier, often as play items made for children to roam the streets.

Before bicycles became popular among children, steel scooters with two small bicycle wheels were more common.

Skateboard

Skateboarding is an extreme sport and skateboards are used for this purpose. It is also rarely used for transportation.

It was invented after the middle of the 20th century by attaching wheels to wooden blocks in the coastal cities of California in the United States, by young people who could not surf on windless days.

The skateboarding athlete performs various acrobatic movements by balancing on the moving or stationary skateboard. Since its beginning, this sport, whose popularity has been constantly changing, is performed by many amateur and professional athletes in almost every corner of the world.

It has several categories such as freestyle or streetstyle.

The skateboarding sport has become a huge industry, economy and culture worldwide with special shoes, clothes and accessories as well as the establishment and operation of skate parks and local and international competition organizations.