Maximilian Bakalowits

What Is the future of the car?

Fifty years from now the car as we currently know it – a privately owned vehicle designed for personal transportation – will be a thing of the past.

Why?

Because we have already reached peak road capacity in most of the major cities in the world and therefore we need to reconsider the car.

With the advent of big data, can we consider a future technological solution that would challenge these woeful inefficiencies?

What would happen if cars did not only belong to one individual but to a greater community such as a city? It would become like a big shared community taxi.

Using fully autonomous, self-driving cars at its root, the proposal considers a system that would maximise this powerful technology for the benefit of the individual and the city.

The proposed shared system relies upon a simple series of modular components which are stored, maintained and configured within a number of automated service structures located at strategic points across London.

For a commuter vehicle the interior will be capable of endless transformation to suit the particular needs of users. A transparent shell will enable maximum connection with the surroundings. Future technologies will enable a space that is highly flexible to each individual user's needs – a space that serves as a personal identity for them again.

This proposal will transform the city by reducing the number of vehicles to a minimum therefore eliminating congestion and creating safer roads for all. New street designs will be possible, a cleaner environment created and urban dwellers will have their lives transformed with more time available for meaningful human activities.