The headline of the article "How to change standing vehicles to become rolling vehicles" of the NZZ series "Chances of digitalization" already suggests that our vehicles are not optimally utilized. We neither drive our cars very often nor are all seats occupied most of the time. And eventually, since the appearance of UBER, the agency app for private car trips in the USA, we know that there are creative alternatives for intelligently networking mobility.
Four companies in Switzerland, among which are Migros and a car sharing company, have merged in order to establish the startup company Sharoo. With the assistance of this new company private vehicles can be hired or rented out. The companies believe they will gain new insights into how the public accept these changes and into driver behavior. They expect new business models to emerge as a result.
The front lines of individual and public traffic are blurred with the new communication technologies which network cars and users intelligently. This is a chance for all those whose own car was "holy" so far. The largest public Swiss traffic company, SBB, wants to transform itself from a railway company to a Swiss platform for mobility solutions. Swiss researchers predicted a rising separation of the functions of car users and vehicle owners. From 2030 on this will reduce the traffic volume on Swiss roads. It is a fact that the building density in cities sets certain limits to the individual traffic. Digitalization of the traffic will have a large impact but it is yet unknown how quickly this change will take place.
Full article in NZZ (in German): "Durch geschickte Vermittlung aus Stehzeugen Fahrzeuge machen"