The evolution of transportation-as-a-service
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The evolution of transportation-as-a-service
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Re: The evolution of transportation-as-a-service
#2The takeaway I get is that Uber has an edge on Google in the race for a fully automated taxi service, because the have had more time to work on a more sophisticated routing algorithm.
I am skeptical. As the article points out, it will take a considerable amount of time to deploy any service, once the automated driving is good enough. If Google gets to commercially viable automated driving sooner, it will have plenty of time to refine their own routing algorithms during the rollout.
Re: The evolution of transportation-as-a-service
#3Hasn't transportation been a service you can buy for ages?
Re: The evolution of transportation-as-a-service
#4Hasn't transportation been a service you can buy for ages?
Yes, but it's changing, which is why the article is about the evolution of that service (and not, say, the creation of that service).
Re: The evolution of transportation-as-a-service
#5Hasn't transportation been a service you can buy for ages?
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Re: The evolution of transportation-as-a-service
#6About the only modification I would add to TaaS is making ride-sharing optional -- a personal preference of mine, that might prove worthy of a premium. If I liked sharing space with others, I would take a bus to work.
Re: The evolution of transportation-as-a-service
#7The takeaway I get is that Uber has an edge on Google in the race for a fully automated taxi service, because the have had more time to work on a more sophisticated routing algorithm. I am skeptical. As the article points out, it will take a considerable amount of time to deploy any service, once the automated driving is good enough. If Google gets to commercially viable automated driving sooner, it will have plenty…
An interesting HN comment on vehicle routing from yesterday:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12400611
My sense is that this problem is solved to a much greater extent than automated driving is.
Re: The evolution of transportation-as-a-service
#8Hasn't transportation been a service you can buy for ages?
Yes— but it hasn't been cost-competitive with a driver-owned car for daily drivers (given free/subsidized parking and roadway space, as we have in the US).
Re: The evolution of transportation-as-a-service
#9Uber actually transports people.
Ford actually builds cars.
Google... likes letting smart people do smart things.
While Ford may be the underdog in the race, I like its chances. It has the operational experience to take a "works-in-concept" to "works-in-reality". The software part, while difficult, is not the hardest part of "TaaS". The systems part is.
Re: The evolution of transportation-as-a-service
#10Uber actually transports people. Ford actually builds cars. Google... likes letting smart people do smart things. While Ford may be the underdog in the race, I like its chances. It has the operational experience to take a "works-in-concept" to "works-in-reality". The software part, while difficult, is not the hardest part of "TaaS". The systems part is.
I agree the systems part is the hard part. The software to monitor and control thousands to millions of automated cars.
Ford has a large learning curve in order to figure out how to do that. It will take a very different workforce to build and manage a software system of that scale.
Google and Uber have been managing a system like that from the beginning, it is in their DNA.
I could see Ford providing the hardware, while a different company deploys and manages the customer facing operation. Demoting Ford to a vendor doesn't sound like such a good thing for Ford though.