Driverless vehicles to change transport

In inner cities, cars are unused 96 per cent of the time, clogging up on average over 20 per cent of a city’s urban land mass, said Travis Kalanick, CEO and co-founder of Uber Technologies at the World Government Summit.

Discussing ride-sharing in a session titled ‘The future of urban mobility,’ he pointed out the practice, especially in driverless cars of the future, will solve not only congestion problems but also contribute to better air quality and eventually fewer accidents.

In conversation with CNN moderator Becky Anderson, Kalanick said: “Our data clearly shows that mass transit systems and ride sharing are complementary. Both are important to achieve our ultimate vision, which is to make efficient transport accessible and affordable for everyone.”

Infrastructure

Kalanick pointed out that 4 per cent of all rides globally happen through ridesharing, with the number set to rise to 30 per cent by 2030. He referred to his vision for the future, stating that “self-driving cars are the future.”

“Yet, when the technology becomes available, only those cities which have a ride-sharing infrastructure in place will be able to afford them initially, “Kalanick explained. “Sometimes cities are not set up to work with us, but we see it as the duty of regulators to bring progress to the people and not stand in their way.”