Mobility. It’s a word that’s been heard a lot in recent years. To interpret it in Korean, ‘mobility’ would be appropriate. By the way, At some point, they say that cars are mobility, kickboards are mobility, and even drones are mobility. What are the criteria? I’m not even sure what it means, but ironically, many of the world’s biggest star ventures over the past few years have been mobility companies.
“It’s used here and there like a buzzword, but I don’t know what it means or from where to where it’s called mobility!” [Mobility Insight] introduces various mobility companies and services that are attracting attention at home and abroad. We will analyze and tell you what mobility insights mean by analyzing domestic and foreign cases such as “micro mobility,” “MaaS,” and “autonomous driving,” which are still unfamiliar to us, and the flower of the mobility industry.
On April 18, the government lifted all social distancing measures implemented by COVID-19 in about two years and a month. After spending the dark age of COVID-19, which was gradually dark, they are gradually recovering their daily lives. But it’s not completely gone yet. Continuous attention and efforts are still needed to prevent infection, such as wearing an indoor mask, washing hands with soap, and minimizing the size and time of private gatherings.
I think I’ve been holding it in for too long. After the lifting of the distance, roads across the country continued to be congested with outings every weekend. Many people are likely to travel all over the country to revitalize their shrunken bodies in the spring.
In fact, according to the Korea Expressway Corporation’s analysis of highway weekend traffic from January to April 2022, the average daily highway traffic volume from January to March this year was around 4 million. However, traffic increased significantly to 4.84 million units in April. For more than two years, more and more people are heading out of their homes, away from being an important keyword.
The COVID-19 situation is not completely over yet, but I think it has gradually improved to the level of recovering my daily life.
Many people are taking to the streets again due to the lifting of distance and easing of COVID-19 confirmed patients. I also went to Deoksugung Palace with my family last weekend, and Dawson, who was in charge of the day’s education, also said this. I’ve never seen so many people gathered at Deoksugung Palace since COVID-19.
Before leaving Deoksugung Palace, I used the subway after hearing the news of the expected congestion caused by the increased number of outings. Thanks to the subway running on time, I arrived at the docent program in time. I used a taxi on my way home because I was tired from the docent program that lasted nearly 2 hours. I had to transfer more than twice, and I had to walk more than 15 minutes to get home after getting off the subway station.
That’s right. I get very tired after finishing a lot of physical exercise or going around all day.
In the case of Seoul, where public transportation is good, you can use the subway, so there is no problem usually. However, you often have to change buses several times to get to places where you don’t deserve to go by subway. Sometimes you have to walk for a long time at a bus stop or station.
On May 11, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the “2021 Public Transportation Usage Status,” which analyzed 300 billion big data on public transportation cards. According to the announcement, the annual number of public transportation use by Seoul citizens reaches 3.4 billion and an average of 9.3 million per day. The average number of transfers per public transportation was 1.24 times. It means that you have to transfer once on average.
How convenient would it be if I could go to the destination without transferring to the destination I want by using public transportation such as subway or bus? If you can move without walking to transfer or taking out your transportation card multiple times.
To solve this inconvenience, there are companies that develop “order-type unmanned autonomous vehicles” using driverless self-driving cars. GM Cruise’s Origin, Google’s Waymo, Amazon Juk’s Robo Taxi, Toyota’s ePalette, and so on.
Unmanned self-driving cars on demand…, So it’s a self-driving car that you can call and ride whenever you want? By the way, I think there are still a lot of problems to solve
That’s right. We have to deal with regulations, institutions, and so on worldwide. However, recently, it is moving to improve the system for unmanned autonomous vehicles. In March 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued guidelines for automobile safety standards that allow driving in six years, allowing demonstrations of cars without steering and acceleration pedals. It’s a license to drive a “driverless” Until now, the U.S. has been able to operate only cars equipped with steering systems and accelerators, but the revision of the guidelines has laid the groundwork for the operation of unmanned self-driving cars.
Self-driving car technology is expected to be used in many fields, crossing the boundaries between industries. Therefore, related markets are expecting rapid growth in the future. According to global consulting firm KPMG, the global self-driving car market is estimated to be $7.1 billion (about 9.723 trillion won) in 2020. It is expected to grow 40.1% annually by 2035, reaching $1 trillion (about 1277.8 trillion won). It sounds convenient, but I’m nervous to think that there are more driverless cars on the road.
That’s right. There’s still a lot to overcome. There is not enough infrastructure for self-driving cars yet. There is no guarantee that it will be safe from accidents. In response to these concerns, Son Tae-jang, chairman of “Miseulto,” an investment company specializing in future technology, evaluates Venice as the most specialized city for future mobility, which allows people to travel as prime minister. There is a company that develops mobility similar to this idea. Founded in 2016, it is ‘Glydways, Inc.’ based in San Francisco, USA.
Glideways designs an autonomous transportation system that transports people and logistics at a low cost based on on on demand-based unmanned autonomous driving technology. It offers everything from installation to production.
The difference between Glideway and other self-driving companies is that it builds a dedicated lane called Glideway in the form of a net in the city. It is to propose a system that utilizes self-driving cars for public transportation. The 1.5-meter-wide glideway is built around changed-purpose roads, abandoned railways, lidded canals, and newly built elevated passages. The time required for installation is about five years, which is much less expensive and faster than building a new transportation infrastructure, such as railways. It also has plans to install solar panels along Glideway to operate the system and reduce carbon emissions.
A personal self-driving car named ‘Glydcar’ runs on the glideway. The glide car is a box-shaped car with a length of 3m and a width of 1m. Up to 4 people are allowed inside. You don’t have to worry about passing other regular cars because you’re moving in a private lane. It is also an on-demand vehicle, so you can travel directly to your destination without having to stop at every stop. Except for seats, there is a lot of space, so even customers who use bicycles and wheelchairs can ride it. It can also be used for logistics and transportation at a late hour.