Win-win situation
The big question mark was whether people would actually change their mobility behaviour the way Toyota had modelled it using the Sustainable Mobility Indicators:
- The end user benefited from more convenience and lower costs
- For society: solutions are based on a business model that is sustainable (economically viable) on the long term, on a cost sharing principle (no large investments by the city) and resulting in clear benefits (less congestion, better air quality, safer environment).
Why is Toyota involved?
Why would a company whose core business it is to sell cars want to be involved in a project which may result in having fewer cars on the road? Here are three good reasons. One, we want to contribute to solving the mobility puzzle that cities are facing.
Two, we’ve built up knowledge on what people expect from a car. Our knowledge of mobility needs beyond a car is still at its infancy. That is why we want to better understand what the issues are and how these can be overcome along with the cities.
And three, we need to deepen our engagement level with stakeholders that are different from our traditional partners in the automotive industry for the technologies to come, namely ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems), Fuel Cell, and last but not least autonomous driving.
It’s clear that Toyota wants to be an active player in the field of urban mobility.
