Technology Designed To Get You To Say Good-bye To Privately Owned Cars.

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When I cover automotive events as a photojournalist, I often get the opportunity to talk in depth with CEOs as well as technology innovators.

At CES I was intrigued by a statement Justin Rees, CEO Ride Systems, made "Our services offer a quantum leap forward enabling everybody to say good-bye to privately owned cars soon."

Backstory: Ride Systems and DoubleMap had just merged at the time of this interview, bringing together two companies with a proven track record of providing safe, fact-based real-time information on transportation alternatives for getting from point A to point B. This includes public transit and on-demand (Uber, Lyft etc.) transit. The combined data bases comprise public transit riders, corporations (employee vans), airports, universities and hotels. While now operating under one holding company, both will maintain their respective brick and mortar headquarters. Both companies have a free app (Ride Systems and DoubleMap GPS) allowing the user to see alternatives available to get from A to B either entirely on one service or in combination, along with real-time indication of when the option will be at a specific location.

For the full interview please see https://insight.daumphotography.com/?p=840. I hope you find it of interest.

Additional ones will be coming soon, including one with two companies that believe their technology will remove carbon deposits without engine tear down.

[John]

That is a fascinating interview you did Jeff. Very interesting to read a valid perspective — though very different from the world I personally live in. Their perspective makes a massive amount of sense for those in dense urban environments, and probably for suburbs too.

I conversely live in the sticks, there is no public transit in my town other than a tiny taxi cab company (e.g., one cab, one driver). And tons of great Corvette driving roads and wide open spaces all around my town. My wife and I own four vehicles, and while we periodically debate getting down to three of them, that has not happened in the last forty years,

Good for the newly growing urban/suburb personal transportation options, though clearly I will pass. However, when I went to the Los Angeles ZR1 reveal, then doubled back for a forum ZR1 get-together, I absolutely never thought of renting a car as I used to, but instead had a series of 6 fantastic Lyft rides where/when I needed.

Thank you very much Jeff. The personal transportation environment is definitively changing.

[Boomer]

I guess the more real time info folks can get instantly about immediately available transportation options, the better, especially in urban settings. However I think everybody saying "good-bye to privately owned cars soon” is a bit of a stretch. Not gonna give up my Corvette!!

Very professional presentation Jeff. Thanks.

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That is a fascinating interview you did Jeff. Very interesting to read a valid perspective — though very different from the world I personally live in. Their perspective makes a massive amount of sense for those in dense urban environments, and probably for suburbs too.

I conversely live in the sticks, there is no public transit in my town other than a tiny taxi cab company (e.g., one cab, one driver). And tons of great Corvette driving roads and wide open spaces all around my town. My wife and I own four vehicles, and while we periodically debate getting down to three of them, that has not happened in the last forty years,

Good for the newly growing urban/suburb personal transportation options, though clearly I will pass. However, when I went to the Los Angeles ZR1 reveal, then doubled back for a forum ZR1 get-together, I absolutely never thought of renting a car as I used to, but instead had a series of 6 fantastic Lyft rides where/when I needed.

Thank you very much Jeff. The personal transportation environment is definitively changing.

Most welcome John. Clearly not applicable to your, and many other's situations. However, it is a logical next step and represents much more than a niche industry. In many ways we are fortunate to bridge both the passion of being car enthusiasts and part of the rapidly changing future of transportation.

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I guess the more real time info folks can get instantly about immediately available transportation options, the better, especially in urban settings. However I think everybody saying "good-bye to privately owned cars soon” is a bit of a stretch. Not gonna give up my Corvette!!

Very professional presentation Jeff. Thanks.

Thank you Boomer. Clearly a stretch indeed and my impetus for meeting with them and finding out more about what they meant.

[Shrike6]

No Uber or Lyft without privately owned cars. And the reliability of public transportation in this country is ( charitably) uneven. This whole nudge toward giving up privately owned vehicles is far too collectivist for me. It puts your mobility at the mercy of others ( possibly with an agenda. Suppose you hail a ride online and you are told that it will be an excessively long wait, or excessively priced bc of demand? All this centralized control over personal freedom of mobility is Stalinist. Once we give up ANY of our personal freedoms, they are gone forever. And we are at the tender mercies of others.
I do not know what course others may choose, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.

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Shrike6, of course there are many ways to look at what these companies are offering and doing. I'd prefer not to politicize it. Personally, I am not looking to give up my car nor advocating that. However, I actually think they are providing substantial options to many who can and want to use them, without having to give up personal freedoms. They for example, enable corporations to provide more tailored van and shared ride services to employees who don't want to drive into work, or deal with city traffic. They provide better information on when a specific bus will arrive as well as alternative routes to get from A to B. They have automated many of the non-driving tasks on city buses so as to free up the bus driver to pay more attention to driving.

[Boomer]

My wife is talking about taking a trip to the Galapagos Islands with some friends. I said wow can you even get there from here? I wonder if the app would allow her to sit in our living room (Point A) and punch in Galapagos (Point B) and be provided instant conveyance information for the entire journey.

[Boomer]

All this centralized control over personal freedom of mobility is Stalinist. Once we give up ANY of our personal freedoms, they are gone forever. And we are at the tender mercies of others. I do not know what course others may choose, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.

Its OK. Relax. You'll be fine. You can put the hammer down now.

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My wife is talking about taking a trip to the Galapagos Islands with some friends. I said wow can you even get there from here? I wonder if the app would allow her to sit in our living room (Point A) and punch in Galapagos (Point B) and be provided instant conveyance information for the entire journey.

Perhaps down the proverbial road, you'll be able to do that. At this point, Ecuador, would have to agree to participate since they govern the related local transportation.