Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Friday 23 September 2016

A BLUE-PRINT FOR URBAN TRANSPORTATION


Name of the Game :  Co-operation

There was a time when a Company had to compete with other companies within its own Industry

Entry-barriers across industries were very high

No more !




In the Internet Age , a Company never knows from where a competitor will spring up and completely re-write the " Rules of the Competition Game " !


It seems , the rules of this new Competition Game is , " CO-OPERATION "

Something like : " If you cannot lick them , then join them "



FOR  EXAMPLE :

The existing Car Manufacturers are being threatened by the " Non - Car Manufacturers " such as Amazon / Google / Apple / Alibaba / Baidu etc , who are rushing headlong into manufacture of Autonomous ( Driverless ) Cars


So these Car Manufacturers have realized the threat looming on the not-so-distant horizon and started tying-up with " Ride Share " companies

Eg:

*    General Motors with Lyft

*    Toyato  with Uber

*    Volkswagen with Gett

*    BMW with Scoop

*    Ford ( India ) with Zoomcar

*    Mahindra & Mahindra with Ola



WHY  ?

Because they have realized that the  TECTONIC  SHIFT  shaking up the Car Industry is :


If you can have " Transport as a Service " delivered WHERE you wants , WHEN you wants , WITHIN  5 minutes and CHEAP , then why OWN  a car ? - and worry about repairs / parking / driver / taxes  ?



Ride sharing services are re-writing the rules of " Asset Ownership Vs Asset Service "


Remember , some 30 years , in many parts of India , homes and shops , used to " OWN " a small privately owned diesel-operated GenSet , since there were long hours of power BLACK-OUTS  ?  One could not depend upon State owned power supply companies . You had to fend for yourself !


But when power from Public Utility Companies became abundant / cheap and reliable , private  Gensets disappeared  !


That is about to happen in case of privately owned cars of which India produced some 2.8 million in 2015-16



HOW  ?

A privately owned car ( may be ) operates for just 2.4 hours ( out of 24 hours ) per day . That is 10 % utilization


Rest of the time , it is parked


But suppose , it was available for plying on the roads , for 50 % of the time ( 12 hours per day ) ?


That is 5 times as much ! And available to ANYONE at a moment's notice ( thru Mobile App )


Then , it is theoretically possible that the number of NEW cars Indian private owners buy , may go down to 0.5 million per year ( as against 2.8 million ) , since few people would want to " Buy / Own " a car !


That is a huge threat to existing car manufacturers ! Imagine being made obsolete by Ride-Sharing Companies !


 
WHAT   NEXT  ?


Next tectonic shift is :

DRIVER-LESS  CARS  =  LESS-CAR  ROADS



Why do you think , car-companies like Tesla / General Motors / VW  and non-car companies like Google / Uber etc are frantically working to launch " AUTONOMOUS ( DRIVER-LESS ) " cars ?


They have no love lost for the drivers ! ( May be , a little bit ! )


In a traffic jam , taking a taxi from Andheri to Churchgate , will take you 90 minutes , even if it is a Uber or Ola


So , a Ride Sharing company may save you those other hassles ( repairs / parking / taxes / driver etc ) , but it does not save you any travel-time , to go from A to B


That ( no reduction in travel time ) holds good , even for DRIVER-LESS , ride-sharing taxies !


Diver or no driver , travel time remains the same


Except for another " PARADIGM  SHIFT " in case of DRIVER-LESS cars , viz:


Its utilization can easily go up to 90 % of 24 hours !



Imagine 1 LAKH , DRIVER-LESS , Uber / Ola ride-sharing taxies roaming the streets of Mumbai , 24 hours a day !


That may eliminate from the roads of Mumbai , 10 LAKH private cars ,  making Mumbai , a


less CAR  /  less  TRAFFIC JAM  /  less  POLLUTED /  less NOISY /  less TRAVEL-TIME  / less ACCIDENT , city  !


I hope Shri Nitin Gadkariji , re-focuses on replacing Old Polluting Petrol / Diesel Vehicles ( V-VMP ) with Driver-less Ride Sharing Future of Urban Transport


I am sure , he is aware of the Guidelines released by the US Department of Transportation just 2 days back , which outlined safety expectations and encourage uniform rules for the DRIVER-LESS CAR technology

 
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23  Sept  2016



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with regards,

hemen  parekh
Marol , Mumbai , India
  M ) +91 - 98,67,55,08,08



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