Gordon: I’ve been predicting the emergence of the ‘Transportation Service Provider’ – an agent that will endeavour to acquire as many modes of transportation (with the potential for cash flow) as possible, in order to package and market a service much like telecommunications. For a single price through a single provider, the consumer would have access to multiple means of travel (bike- and car-share and transit, in particular), coverage for associated costs (parking, tolls, information, insurance) as well as servicing and technological upgrades. The provider would have the cash flows, the data, and ultimately control of the transportation network.
Perhaps we’d see a company like Uber or Google move aggressively to get in early, acquire as many public and private assets as possible in order to establish market dominance, if not effective monopoly.
Well, guess what.
“I want to run the bus systems for a city,” (Uber CEO Dara) Khosrowshahi said. “I want you to be able to take an Uber and get into the subway — if the trains are running on time, you’ve got real-time data — get in the subway, get out and have an Uber waiting for you for right now. Or know that there’s a bike right there for you that gets you where you’re going in the fastest manner.”
- from Planetizen
