Future of Mobility is XaaS : eXperience as a Service

In 2014, there were 28 Megacities and 43 Large cities comprising Urban population of more than 10 million and 5 million ~ 10 million respectively. According to the UN this is expected to rise to 41 Megacities and 63 Large cities by 2030.

Global Businesses are increasingly investing in World’s high growth cities because their fortunes are directly linked to winning in these Global cities. World Bank’s development indicators drawn from 2015 data suggests that GDP-PPP of just the 20 largest Global Metros is USD 14.6 trillion. The key enablers and determinants of this growth are tied to Infrastructure and Governance in these cities, also forming the framework for competitiveness among them.

Mobility is the key ingredient that contributes to the competitive index and increasingly becoming a deciding factor for attracting investments from Global Businesses in Global cities, in order to mutually prosper.

"Managing, Enhancing and Transcending User Experiences forms a critical component of Future Mobility"

Urban Decongestion, Energy Decentralization and Data Monetization (Data Privacy) are likely to be the top 3 key drivers, in that order, for increased adoption of connected vehicles over the next 10 to 15 years:

1. Urban Decongestion (Horizon 1, Focus for the next 2 to 3 years)?

Urban congestion is the curse of development that the high growth cities routinely encounter. In 2013, the cost of traffic congestion excluding impact of CO2 emissions in the US, Germany, France and UK alone was estimated to be USD 200 billion. When high growth cities are examined the impact is alarming.?

A study conducted by IIT Madras reports in 2017 that the impact or cost of traffic congestion in New Delhi was estimated at USD 10 billion annually or almost 3% of the GDP of that region. It is no better in other high growth cities, with the cost impact as a proportion of the regional GDP to be 15% for Beijing, 8% for Sao Paulo compared to 1.5% for London and 1.1% for New York city. New Delhi is lower only because of relatively Low Vehicle penetration levels.

In line with increased penetration of mobile internet and explosion of on demand delivery services, over an ordering app on user’s mobile devices, of anything and everything to include food, groceries and lifestyle products at your doorstep only adds to the bane of urban congestion. High growth cities with lack of road infrastructure or efficient transportation systems will suffer the most due to the impact of traffic congestion.?

Intelligent Transportation Systems with Multiple heterogenous modes of mobility are an urgent need. Heterogenous modes could include public transport by road and rail and personal mobility by cab services augmented by smaller vehicles such as auto rickshaws, scooters and cycling for last mile connectivity.

In the era of shared economy all of these modes of mobility have to be seamlessly integrated or connected to provide an easy to use, convenient and delightful experience to its users. Connected Vehicles will complement an heterogenous, intelligent and personalized mobility infrastructure which is a must for high growth cities to transform into more efficient, cleaner, safer, smarter cities.

"Different modes of mobility have to be seamlessly integrated or connected to provide an easy to use, convenient and delightful experience to its users"

In addition to personal mobility, logistics of the on-demand delivery services can begin to utilize this Connected Mobility infrastructure to reduce the overall traffic congestion and enhance user experience by delivering better (faster and more cost effective) services to its users.?

City Governance plays a major role in allowing businesses to leverage the Connected mobility infrastructure within cities to beat the traffic, including public transport by road or rail, for enabling the supply chain and logistics of the on-demand delivery services to be more efficient and profitable.

"Introduce Cargo Services within Metro Trains in Megacities for Logistics Companies to leverage"

In line with the above, easing of regulations for Global and Local businesses to harness the power of Connected Mobility infrastructure that includes Metro Train Services, will go a long way in transcending the user experiences across individuals and businesses, mutually benefiting the citizens experiences and regional economy of high growth cities.

2. Energy Decentralization (Horizon 2, Focus for the next 3 to 5 years)

CO2 emissions are already a major health concern in Megacities. Urban Decongestion and Stricter vehicular emission regulations will only mitigate this issue and not eliminate it. Moving to a Hybrid or Full-Electric Vehicle based mobility seems to be the only long term sustainable solution for now. Moving to a Partial or Fully Electric Mobility solution will mean Energy availability and concerns of Energy Security for high growth cities.

This will lead to the Connected Mobility infrastructure to come into play and enable Residences and Businesses to generate and sell Energy by means of alternate sources, including existing Solar energy assets ensuring newer business models and creation of new businesses that will provide Energy as a Service via the aggregator or orchestrator model. Connected vehicles will play a very critical role in Energy Decentralization, ensuring Energy Security for the high growth cities and revenue generation opportunities for it’s citizens. Here again easing of regulations by City or State Governance should go hand in hand.?

3. Data Monetization and its Privacy (Horizon 3, Focus for beyond 5 years)?

Connected Vehicles will become the gateway of Information highways that will be created by the Connected Mobility Infrastructure. All data relevant to users and their preferences (buying and selling) will be carried by Connected Vehicles with Mobile devices serving only as crucial touchpoints in this Information highway.?

"Data Monetization will lead to City Governance and Citizens being paid by Global Businesses in the future"

Users will spend a considerable amount of time interacting with Connected Vehicles for personal mobility and entertainment. With increased connectivity due to audio, video consumption and payments from Connected vehicles, Data Privacy issues will become paramount. This will mean stricter laws, regulations by Nations at large and a path for Data Monetization where City Governance and Citizens will be paid in the future for their regulated Big Data by Global Businesses, in the form of levies and taxes.