The Uberisation of the world is underway but you probably haven’t noticed yet.
The business model of the ubiquitous Uber taxi firm is set to change the world when governments agree to green light electric self-driving vehicles on the roads.
Within two decades, transport experts predict no one will own a car and the petrol or diesel engine will become an outdated technology only existing in museums.
Transport costs will plummet and many of us will save thousands of pounds a year currently tied up in buying, maintaining and running our cars.
Few drivers clock up more than 15,000 miles a year and for 90% or more of the time, motor vehicles are inactive taking up space in car parks.
Traffic disruption
But picture a bright, new future where Uber has a self-driving electric vehicle waiting around the corner.
The economic benefits are huge.
The costs are shifted to the autonomous car fleet manager. Passengers will pay per mile, C02 emissions will disappear, accidents will reduce and vehicle running costs will reduce because electric motors are more efficient and last longer than the internal combustion engine.
That £10 Uber bill will probably drop to a pound or two because the human factor – the driver – is eliminated.
“We are on the cusp of one of the fastest, deepest, most consequential disruptions of transportation in history,” said co-author Tony Seba, RethinkX co-founder, author of the report Clean Disruption of Energy and Transportation and instructor at Stanford Continuing Studies.
“But there is nothing magical about it. This is driven by the economics.”
Car value chain destroyed
Seba argues Uberisation will take place as ‘transport as service’ gains hold on the world’s crowded roads.
Besides dooming the internal combustion engine, changing to the Uber model will disrupt other industries.
As demand for new vehicles plummets, 70% fewer passenger cars and trucks will be manufactured each year,” says Seba.
“This could result in total disruption of the car value chain, with car dealers, maintenance and insurance companies suffering almost complete destruction. Car manufacturers will have options to adapt as low-margin, high-volume assemblers of autonomous electric vehicles or service providers.”
The impact on the oil industry could be catastrophic as global demand for fuel shrinks dramatically, he adds.
