Recently, it looks as if individuals are spending lots of time pondering what society might be like post-Coronavirus. Whereas everyone seems to be craving going again to the world we knew, we’re additionally acknowledging that the world won’t ever be the identical. I recognize that there have been many articles (like this one and this one) that current a few of the societal shifts that might occur because of this pandemic and I figured I’d take it a step farther and see what it’d imply within the driverless business. Listed here are a few of the large tendencies (related to driverless automobiles) that I’m seeing:

• Automotive gross sales are shifting to a web-based market (hyperlink right here);
• Searching for groceries, garments, and the whole lot else is massively shifting on-line, which is lowering our particular person automobile possession, however placing heavy reliance on items supply (hyperlink right here);
• Since workplaces are encouraging working remotely, procuring has largely shifted on-line, and most public locations are closed, individuals are driving a lot much less (hyperlink right here);
• Persons are scared to journey public transit and take shared rides because of the shut proximity to others (link right here);

Whereas many of those adjustments are out of necessity right this moment, it’s very attainable that they’ll instill long-term change. So what does this imply for driverless automobiles?  It’s clear individuals are longing for the driverless supply of products, which is a good alternative for constructing shopper acceptance for driverless automobiles, basically. And this large discount in car miles traveled (VMT) is reminding individuals of a cleaner, safer world – might this create longer-term impacts? Higher environmental insurance policies? Then again, this doesn’t bode properly for shared, driverless rides – although I’m hopeful this isn’t a long-term impression.

I hope our society may be considerate about how we re-open our society…not simply on the subject of the sharing of germs, however with our insurance policies, our companies, and our particular person practices. Let’s take into consideration the world we would like and develop into proactively attempt to make it occur. Shared, electrical, driverless automobiles – how will we get there? Encourage shared rides, incentivize electrical car utilization, create supportive driverless rules, discourage single occupancy car utilization (and car possession, basically), and proceed to exhibit and talk driverless car success tales. Whereas the know-how continues to be superior, these are all necessary foundational components.