The emergence around the world of mega-cities, i.e. a city with a population of more than 10 million, demonstrates the rapid pace of urban growth. Worldwide, there are roughly 25 mega-cities. By 2030, there will be 28 mega-cities in China alone. This will mean increased congestion, air quality issues, and strain on infrastructure such as parking. Keeping people mobile is only going to get harder.
Speaking in a panel discussion at Connected Car Detroit by Automotive Megatrends, Mike Tinskey, Director Connected Vehicle Emerging Services, Ford, said that these threats to mobility are the main driver behind connectivity in the automotive industry. “These are things that the connected car can address,” he said. His comments echo those of Sheryl Connelly, Ford’s Global Trends and Futuring Manager, who recently told Automotive Megatrends magazinethat enabling mobility in megacities will prove especially important in emerging markets.
New mobility solutions enabled by connected car technology, such as car-sharing, could hold the key. Kate Roberts, Director of Global Partnerships at leading car-sharing company Zipcar, weighed in on the subject. She explained that Zipcar estimates each shared car takes around thirteen cars off the road, and in the future, car-sharers will outnumber private owners.
Meanwhile, ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft also free up parking spots, as occupants only need to be dropped off. Predictive analytics will also be able to show Uber and Lyft drivers, and eventually autonomous cars, where demand exists, and enable more efficient flow of traffic.
Tinskey believes connectivity will not add value to a vehicle in itself, but must be combined with solutions. This will depend on using connected technologies to gather the data needed to understand driver behaviours. He highlighted parking as an example. “Every vehicle encounters parking issues,” he said. “We studied customer data, in an effort to figure out parking behaviours from city to city.”
Tinksey described how this enlightened OEMs to behaviours such as ‘stalking’, whereby drivers in parking lots follow customers who leave a store to their parking spot. Gathering this kind of information and sharing it can help educate drivers, improving their mobility capabilities.
What’s not clear is how drivers will feel about sharing personal data. Millenials familiar with social media, Tinskey added, are far more likely to agree in return for services, but the process is evolving.
