Over the past decade in the Washington, DC area we have seen the first-hand impact of changes in mobility preferences. Across the board, people are choosing to move differently. Shared bikes and vehicles, driverless cars, drones—all are changing the future of mobility, and this has dramatic implications and opportunities for retailers and users, researchers and developers, and regulators.
For years, the District has proven itself as an early-adopter of new, innovative ways of moving around the region. In 2008, DC was the first city in North America to implement a bike-sharing service, Capital Bike Share (formerly SmartBike DC, https://www.capitalbikeshare.com/about). The system, which is owned by the local governments and operated through a public-private partnership, was just the beginning. DC was also the second city in North America to bring Car2Go to its residents, offering one-way rentals of smart cars on a pay-per-use basis starting in 2012. Add to this the democratization of transportation via services like Uber, Lyft, and ZipCar and we, as consumers, are less dependent than ever on car ownership to move around the region on our own terms.
Just a decade ago, driverless vehicles seemed like something out of a sci-fi movie; today, they are becoming a reality. Drones are being actively used by the US Military, and even by tech-savvy citizens. Google’s driverless cars have already been driven over 1 million miles, and testing of autonomous vehicles is in full force. There is also growing support and commitment from the Federal Government and automakers. In his recently-released FY 2017 budget, President Obama proposed spending $4 billion over 10 years on the development, testing, and implementation of autonomous vehicles (“U.S. Proposes Spending $4 Billion to Encourage Driverless Cars.” The Wall Street Journal. January 14, 2016). Virtually all major automakers are planning to introduce some form of autonomous vehicle by 2020 (“Obama wants to invest $4 billion in driverless cars.” Tech Insider. January 14, 2016).
At Deloitte, we are leading the charge to help our clients determine the role they will play in shaping the future of mobility. Specifically, we are putting our best minds together to help our Federal clients identify how and when future of mobility trends will impact their Agency, employees, mission, and the American people.
We are looking at the impact of the future of mobility on our Federal clients along a spectrum. The spectrum spans from retailers (users and enablers) on one end, researchers and developers in the middle, and regulators on the opposite end of the spectrum. Each organization’s relationship with autonomous vehicle technology will determine where it falls on the spectrum.
So how are we applying this? We start the conversations with clients based on where they lie on the spectrum. We start by asking ourselves and our clients some core questions: Does your organization directly or indirectly rely on transporting people and/or products or on other types of logistics? Will constituents using new forms of transportation present new benefits and/or challenges to the organization?
What have we found? Some initial insights include:
- Potential users or retailers include logistics agencies like USPS, GSA, and DOD, agencies like Interior, Commerce, and USDA, and enabling agencies like HUD
- Research and development organizations include potential users and enablers like the DOD and interested regulators like NHTSA, ITS, and FCC
- Regulators include transportation and communication agencies like DOT and FCC and consumer protection agencies like FTC and DHS
Now is the time to get onboard and prepare ourselves and our clients for the future of mobility.