How many hours do you use your car per day? Half an hour, three hours, ten hours? – The rest of the time it is just parked and therefore basically in the way. How often in your live have you been angry about people parking on double yellow lines and slow down the traffic in an entire street? The more you think about it the more you realise how inefficient it is to own a car.
The consultancy Frost&Sullivan investigated this topic and came to the result that in a city one car could guarantee mobility for 55 people. “Car Sharing” is the new word of the industry and companies like Daimler or Volkswagen investigate in “mobile people” concepts. Daimler e.g. tried a concept similar to the London Cycle Scheme in Ulm, Germany. They rented 140 parking spaces throughout the city and applied Smarts. So far 15% of driving licence holders of the area have registered for the system. Even students find it an attractive alternative to Bus or Train. One of the unique selling points is the guaranteed parking space.
Technology is the solution. If you are in the car and running into traffic or if your train brakes down an app on your smart phone should guide you directly to the next most efficient way of transport. By using GPS data it is easy to calculate all efficiencies. The real “problem” is to connect all date from Bus, Train, Tram, Plane, Car,… systems and suppliers. A good start for this are all “Easy” companies because you have easyjet, easycar, easybus,… already in place. If they would work together there would be lots of synergies and cost saving potential for the companies. And clients would get one “easy mobility invoice” by the end of the month, regardless which service they used. The next thing will be a mobility flat rate. Think about it when making your next travel arrangements.