Old taxis into new mobility? Below is a hypothesis but first, some mobility news.
Just Six Years From Horses to Cars
A recent article highlighted the dramatic mobility change that happened in the early 1900s via two images. The first dated 1907 shows 5th Avenue in New York filled with horse-drawn buggies and no cars; the second, just six years later in 1913, shows the same avenue full of cars and not a horse in sight.
Charging Stations: The New Gas Stations
In tandem with EVs is the rise of charging solutions. Unlike gas/petrol stations which require half a football field, in the future perhaps even mamak stalls (sidewalk cafés) could conceivably be able to provide charging facilities. A sample of third-party (vs manufacturer) charging companies:
- Ubitricity - Help property developers include charging in their projects
- Electrify - Charging network that is CCS, CHAdeMO and J1772 compatible
- EVgo - America's largest charging network
- EVbox - Charging infrastructure component supplier
- Chargemaster - UK charging network that was acquired by BP
Subscriptions: Ownership on Demand
Instead of owning a vehicle outright, subscriptions allow nano/micro ownership by the hour, day, month, year. Sample vehicle subscription services:
- FlexDrive - Allow dealerships to offer subscriptions
- Smove - Drive Grab/GoJek using a hired vehicle: no deposits, no contracts
- Drover - All-in subscription includes insurance, servicing, tax, road assist
- Canvas - Ford's easy-to-use 3-component subscription
- GoCar - Almera @ $3.50/hr | SoCar: Axia @ $2/hr, eBMW @ $10/hr $=USD
Mobility Snippets
Some latest mobility news:
- StromR3 - India's compact, low-cost EV challenger 1 2 3 top image
- PlanetM - Michigan's automotive ecosystem accelerator
- Tier - Germany's e-scooter challenger to Bird, Lime, Spin
- SeaBubbles - Electric hydrofoil: use rivers and seas as highways
- UltraCharge - Titanium dioxide, nanotube, gel battery
New Mobility for Taxis a hypothesis
- Old taxis are replaced by subscription EVs
- Taxi drivers rent by the day, week, month: no deposit, no committment
- If driver goes on leave, just return the car, no-use-no-charge
- Training povided, auto upgrade to newer models, half-day shift ok
- No 'personalisation' of the vehicle, EVs are fungible and exchangable
- Vehicle is fitted with twin cameras and a discreet driver shield
- EV subscription fees and taxi fares are set by market and/or authorities
- Work as much or as little as one wishes, P&L is the driver's call
- No cash: fare is auto calculated and paid by e-wallet or card only
- Differentiators: rank based vs e-hailing, transparent vs surge pricing