Recently, Uber and Toyota joined hands to collaborate on a partnership to facilitate the lives of many. The plan they have envisioned will shed light to the controversial issue of driver-less vehicles. Since Tesla’s launch of automated driving, the industry has been left stunned and in awe at the same time. Their aim is to bring on-demand autonomous ride-hailing services to us, this will bring a transformation to the lives of many. Disruption in Melbourne and globally is imminent now. The plan is to equip Toyota Sienna minivans with Uber’s self-driving technology and then it will be deployed on the ride hailing company’s network. Now let’s see a consumer perspective and evaluate this topic from my (a father’s and an entrepreneur’s) viewpoint, then this idea is both a game changer in perspective of the automotive industry and it is will ease the life of commuters around the world, especially his child’s.
The current rate of an Uber approximately costs around $15 in Melbourne at this moment of time however the charge (in future) will be lower as there would be no driver. Carrying a traditional car will be more expensive in comparison to a driverless electric car that too which does not require a driver. This will save a significant amount of time, efforts and money.
Disruption in Melbourne for new Generations
When my daughter needs to attend university, she would not need to use Public Transport, if she pays an extra couple of dollars she will be able to reach her destination ( Point A->B) in a car which is hassle free, convenient, safe( probably) and less time consuming. This will give her furthermore time to focus on her education and spend her time constructively and productively.
Toyota’s plan is to develop completely autonomous cars is to fulfil the requirement of the rapidly progressive generation as well the population. They will install a system which will allow to switch from manual driving to autonomous driving. The switch will be addressed as the “guardian” or “chauffeur”. “Under this new agreement, Uber’s autonomous driving system and the Toyota “guardian” automated safety support system would both be integrated into these Autono-MaaS vehicles.”
This ensures the safety guaranteed by both leading companies in the automotive industry. “Uber’s automated driving system and Toyota’s guardian system will independently monitor the vehicle environment and real-time situation, enhancing overall vehicle safety for both the automated driver and the vehicle,” said Dr. Gill Pratt, Toyota Research Institute CEO. For me, Toyota is a mature, robust and high- quality process driven organisation. This initiatives to collaborate with Uber is quite alarming to our society in Australia & worldwide. And you can feel where I am coming from?
What we learned?
In today’s materialistic world people are less conscious about the community, society and people surrounding them. So yes, our friends in Taxi industry and Govt agency (who collect- rego, parking fee, & revenue from 3rd Party like Insurance agency) who are getting bread & butter from Automotive transport industry will bear a big impact. We need to be proactive and prepare to accept this risk. So let’s work out what are the possible options we have to face this disruptions. If you would like to connect with one of our team members at 6 Sigma Consulting and discuss how disruption is affecting the viability of your business give us a call on 1300 SIX SIGMA or email us at info@6sigmaconsulting1.com.au
Please share your comments and possible options.
