Future of Transportation

Autonomous shuttles have enormous potential to change society and transportation of the future. They meet a clear market need for mobility particularly in cities and communities, and our prediction is that such locations will continue to be the earlier adopters of autonomous vehicles.They could change urban life on myriad levels. The obvious benefit is environmental. Electric, driverless vehicles will reduce emissions, more so if, as predicted. People switch to communal use rather than individual ownership.

We are reaching the ‘peak’ of cars and car ownership is now actually on the decline. Nevertheless this has led to congestion, significant greenhouse gas emissions, and continues to get in the way of more active ways of transport such as walking or cycling.

Now, more than ever, particularly young people are excited to not own vehicles and we’re seeing a decrease in drivers’ licences, creating an opportunity for a paradigm shift in how people use their vehicle to get around. But emission control is just the start.

Shared Transport

Something about cars that we rarely think about is that they spend very little of their time on the road. Overall, private cars are used less than 10 percent of time, sitting in a parking space or garage for the rest of it. Even a sidewalk moves more people per hour on average than a car lane.

And if that’s the case, one of the biggest areas of change we could see from widespread shared autonomous transport use is the sudden provision of space. Imagine not needing to own your own car because you could call in a communal driverless vehicle any time you wanted; residences would suddenly have less need for garages and car ports, and that space could be reclaimed as livable space.

Free Up Parking Space

Expand the point, and cities in general could benefit from a reallocation of land previously set aside for car parks. The Transportation Research Institute at the University of Toronto has estimated up to 87 per cent of parking space could be freed up. A simple switch to convert these areas to green space could have even greater impact on sustainability. What’s more, with automated cars able to travel more closely together, the size of road lanes can be reduced, allowing for more pavement area or cycle lanes.

Essentially, the focus in cities could shift dramatically from the needs of its transport to the needs of its people, whose mental health would also receive a boost. You would no longer have to concentrate on the road when traveling – you could read, watch TV, sneak in some work before you get to the office, or just nap.

And that’s exactly why we believe EasyMile’s projects are so vital.

We’re on the cusp of a transport revolution and these projects provide the opportunity for the community to be part of the journey and the learning process. To see the benefits and ride the future.