How a Futurist Thinks: What Should We Do About Zombie Cars in the Era of Self-Driving Cars?

I just had a short talk in an airport with an urban planner; the inevitable question came about as to where I was going, and then, what I do. (In today’s case, I’m going to speak to 250 cattle ranchers about their future….)

So I explained the idea of a futurist, and in order to make it relevant, I came up with a trends scenario for him: “What do we do about zombie cars from an urban planning perspective?”

The essence of the issue is this:

• one day, we’ll have a lot of self-driving vehicles
• in that context, there are many communities where people have to pay extra for overnight parking spots, either for their condominium or due to the unique design of the neighbourhood they live in
• in some communities, these parking spots are expensive — upwards of $500 to $1,000 a month
• people with self-driving cars will avoid this cost, simply by sending their cars out at 6 or 7pm to drive around the neighbourhood for the night, or to go park at a shopping mall parking lot somewhere
• everyone will order them back around the same time — say, 6AM
• and so we will suddenly have to deal with new traffic jams occurring at 6am
• so the question is, what will an urban planner do to deal with the new challenges coming from zombie cars?
• Will it be an issue, and how should we manage and plan for it?

Just saying. Just one of many fascinating topics I bring into my keynote, Accelerating the Auto and Trucking Industry in the Era of Self-Driving Vehicles.