City 2.0

Linear thinking tells us there is not much we can do about traffic in our crowded cities. But unsurprisingly city transport is just about to be revolutionized. And no, I do not mean flying cars or personal jetpacks. It will be revolutionized by smartphones.

By the way, I do not feel comfortable calling smartphone a smartphone. Hey, what is the amount of time an iPhone user makes voice conversations versus all other activities involving the device? 10%/90%? Teleputer, the term coined by George Gilder back in 1990's is much more appropriate. A phone is no longer a phone. It is a personal, pocket, always connected computer.

But back to the cities. The only way to improve traffic conditions in cities is to increase utilization of vehicles. Say good bye to private cars carrying one person each. Say good bye to taxis, carrying a single driver most of the time and a driver plus one passenger for the remaining half.

OK public buses then and metro? Of course public transport is one way to solve the problem. But there are barriers. The biggest is many causal public transport passengers simply do not know the system. They do not know the routes, the fare rules, the time tables. They do not know where to buy tickets and where to go to get on a right bus. I hear laughter. But imagine yourself landing for the first time in a new city. How do you get to your hotel? I bet 90% will take a taxi. Not because taxis are that much comfortable. But because they require almost no knowledge of the system nor how to navigate through.

And here come our teleputers to the rescue. Connected and GPS - enabled. They instantly make you as smart and as aware of the local public transport as most of the people living here. I speak from my own experience. I started using public transport extensively in every polish city I go to, because of the jakdojade Android application. It tells me where I should walk, what time the bus leaves, how many stops is the ride and the price of the ticket. And I am by no means slower than my friends taking taxis. Plus I really feel I control the situation, versus being lost at the backseat. This is today.

Now fast forward just a few years ahead and imagine this. There are cars parked around the city. Just as they are today. You approach the one nearest to you. Your teleputer in the background initiates the short time rental transaction. It contacts the car, negotiates the fee, and authorizes the charge, just in time when you reach for the door handle to open. You jump into the driver's seat, your destination is transferred to the car's infotainment system, the engine starts, you drive and then you leave the car for the next person to use. When you opt to share the car, other teleputers may direct their owners to join you as passengers along the way, sharing the bill too.

This is not a dream. We have everything in place already. 2012 is the year the mobile phone died and has been replaced by the smart, multi - connected teleputer. Mobile payments are here. Mobile navigation has been with us for several years. Cars just need simple tracking modules and remote monitoring / control modules, I know the leading manufacturers are already testing. The software - powered City 2.0 is just about to arrive.