Giving people rides who need rides is the message of the book, The Real Case for Driverless Mobility. That is, there is a large segment of the population that cannot engage in, as the book co-author, Alain Kornhauser, calls it, “A do-it-yourself approach to transportation.”

Kornhauser argues that the opportunity for companies promoting driverless mobility is to serve this segment. In doing so, it will improve the quality of life for those who cannot drive themselves for reasons of age, affordability, skills, or other reasons.

Stay tuned for a review of the book in a post.

Interview Highlights #

• 00:15 – Kornhauser segments the mobility market into do-it-yourself (drive yourself) mobility and rides as a service.
• 04:22 – He points out that reducing the cost of mobility improves the quality of life. There is a latent demand for mobility that will be revealed as lower-cost, high-quality options become available.
• 07:08 – One audience for the book is the companies that are trying to bring driverless technologies to market. Another key audience for this book is policymakers. It is the intersection of these groups that presents an opportunity to create a new sort of public transit that is demand-responsive and lower cost than traditional approaches.
• 10:02 – Driverless, combined with new vehicle form factors, provides the opportunity to bring mobility to those who struggle to provide mobility for themselves. Kornhauser compares the potential of driverless to be on par with the Industrial Revolution in terms of growth and societal improvements.
• 14:21 – Kornhauser sings the praises of his co-author, Michael Sena, publisher of The Dispatcher and an internationally recognized expert in telematics, digital map databases, location-based services, and navigation.