Golf Car Options Magazine Juy 2019 Golf Car Options Magazine July 2019 | Page 21

with these issues, the principal target for alleviat- ing congestion and pollution are transport systems. Transport systems, broadly speaking, involve private- ly-owned motor vehicles, small commercial convey- ance of a wide variety, and mass transit systems. Most companies and individuals involved in urban planning are looking to the following changes: • Congestion fees assessed on vehicles traveling in certain urban districts; • Outright prohibition of internal combustion engines—all vehicles operating on electric power; • Drastically reducing the need for private, individual ownership of cars, via on-call ride sharing; • Optimization of traffic flows, in part through the operation of small, driverless vehicles; • Heavier reliance on mass transit systems. The role of gated communities Gated community development itself is a deterrent to urbanization, particularly as gated communities become increasingly self-contained, with everyday shopping needs, schools, and entertainment acces- sible within them. Personal transportation vehicles (PTVs) are a preferred mode of transportation to begin with, and so, fit the dimen- sions of a small, urban mobility vehicle. The gat- ed community environment is ideal for acces- sorizing PTVs with artificial intelligence devices, includ- ing self-driving systems. My view, by the way, is that PTVs such as the Club Car Onward, STAR’s Sirius, E-Z-GO’s 2Five, Yamaha’s Drive2 are just the beginning of new designs, features and performance emanating from the product development shops of these companies. It should be noted that fully autonomous vehicles, because they have no need for human intervention, other than signaling a pick-up point and a destination, there is no need for a steering wheel, the brake and gas pedals, and other control apparatus that typifies a conventional automobile and the PTV. Thus, the interior space of the vehicle can be totally redesign. Some have termed these new interior designs as “moveable living rooms”—or, mobile office space. Sources of innovation likely to be start-ups Investment driverless vehicle systems companies has been breathtaking, as investors seize up the concept of the new product and have bet heavily on its future value. With this hectic funding activity directed to largely untested systems (in real world environ- ments), do not be surprised if you, as gated commu- nity resident, are invited to participate in a testing project. More on this subject in future articles. Comments? Contact me at smetzger@ smallvehiclere- source.com and visit the SVR website at a www.smallve- hicleresource. com . Image courtesy of MarTechToday Contact Steve at [email protected]. Or check out our website at www.smallvehicleresource. com, where you will find an extensive database of vehi- cle models and can make side-by-side comparisons of vehicles based on a full set of specifications. JULY 2019 21