When I say autonomous vehicles will “end private car ownership” what I mean more specifically is “end private car ownership as the primary and dominant modality of using cars.” Not everyone will embrace The Mobility Cloud. These will be just some of the holdouts.
- the wealthy
- rural residents
- automobile enthusiasts (although many of these people will use the mobility cloud in addition to owning a vehicle that interests them. The mobility cloud will be the end of the “daily driver” as it’s referred to these circles. I fall into this group, actually.)
- people that just absolutely have to have their golf clubs, rain jackets, tools, etc in their car with them at all times
- just about all tradesmen and anyone else that has to have their work resources in their vehicle with them at all times (this is an extension of the point above, but for reasons of professional necessity rather than personal preference)
- control freaks that aren’t comfortable being driven around by a machine
- conspiracy theorists, privacy enthusiasts and other subscribers to various versions of the belief that the level of “Orwellian” potential inherent to The Mobility Cloud make it untenable as a consumer option
- people that would like to commit crimes at the destination of their journey or whom have just committed a crime
- public figures that both would like to engage in activities judged to be socially unacceptable (like having an affair) and have a fear that the privacy promised by the autonomous fleet provider won’t be maintained either through omission or commission