Part 21 - The state of the future

Singapore is a modern clean city state and I have been fortunate enough to visit there on several occasions over the years.

I first went there in 2002 and found it to be very quiet, sedate, very very clean, neat and very easy to get around with low traffic and a fast efficient MRT rail system.

On my last visit two years ago I found it to be far more vibrant and it has grown considerably since my last visit.

Given that it is a city state with limited land resources of 719 sq km (278 sq miles) and a population of more that five and a half million people it has its own set of unique problems .

Not the least of these is traffic.

Given that a basic Corolla on the road with all government fees and charges will cost over $US100,000 in the first year, it is staggering that the government has had to take steps to reduce the number of vehicles it will allow on the road for the next year because of traffic volume and the long transit times around this small country.

As I said I have been there a few times and have noticed how much longer it now takes to get somewhere by taxi compared to when I first visited.

So where is this leading?

Singapore is the ideal place to be the first to implement a fully autonomous taxi service.

Why you ask? Good thing you did really, so now I have a reason to continue.

Singapore is just off the equator so it doesn't get snow or ice. It has a good road infrastructure, relatively flat land and a government with good control and able to implement new policies when they need to.

To tackle the traffic problem the government has committed to have autonomous taxis on the road and has already started testing with Delhi automotive.

With taxi fares expected to drop by a third with the removal of the driver and dramatically increased traffic flow it seems an ideal solution for this small but progressive state.

Their ambitious time frame starts with testing this year (2016) and concluding in 2020 with a complete fleet of fully autonomous taxis on the road replacing the existing manual fleet.

Given the known phenomenon of taxis disappearing off the streets when it rains (everyday in Singapore) this should also help considerably in getting people moving.

Given that this is a very ambitious time frame, it remains to be seen if this happens as quickly as they hope but given the commitment and need, Singapore could well lead the world in implementing this technology.

On another related front, Singapore's SMRT Corporation is to provide automated transport pods for use in  airports, campuses, resorts and industrial parks.These can carry up to 24 people at speeds up to 40 km per hour.

Many countries are talking a lot about autonomous vehicles,
Asian countries are doing a lot more than talking about it, possibly because of greater population pressures and growing economies creating a more urgent need.

The west has had private ownership of vehicles for a very long time but many Asian countries have only recently reached the level of wealth where individuals can afford to buy cars and they are doing so in ever increasing numbers.

This has created a boom which in turn has created huge congestion and pollution issues which puts enormous pressure on governments to keep this growth sustainable.

Automated vehicles may be the key to having efficient transport for all and to keep pollution down by reducing the number of vehicles on the road.

So what seems to be tight time frames to us in the west may actually be achievable in the east....

After all, they have a very big incentive to make it work.