014: Robotaxis into Car Shares; The Real Future of Transport

While you were counting down to 2026 on New Years, Tobias was counting down the last seconds of a future he very personally dreamed of; a future with less cars. You see, Zipcar, the UK’s biggest car sharing company were going out of business, ceasing operations for 2026. 

Almost simultaneously, the UK government accelerated the timeline on autonomous vehicle trials. Before we know it, LA’s Waymos are going to be hitting London streets. But this isn’t the future either, it’s just a different version of the same car-fuelled nightmare. What if, instead, we already had the perfect technology and just didn’t realise it? 

LInks:

• Car-sharing company ZipCar to end UK operations, BBC News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8zv1gr0z9o
• Autonomous Vehicle Market Surges with 34.84% CAGR as MaaS, ADAS, and AI Adoption Accelerate, Newswire: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/19/3221004/0/en/Autonomous-Vehicle-Market-Surges-with-34-84-CAGR-as-MaaS-ADAS-and-AI-Adoption-Accelerate.html
• Road traffic injuries, WHO: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/road-traffic-injuries
• Autonomous Vehicle Accidents: NHTSA Crash Data (2019-2025). Craft Law: https://www.craftlawfirm.com/autonomous-vehicle-accidents-2019-2024-crash-data/
• Cyclist 'jumped red light and killed pedestrian Peter McCombie', BBC News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-56320121
• Does cycle commuting reduce the risk of mental ill-health? An instrumental variable analysis using distance to nearest cycle path: https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/53/1/dyad153/7529101
• Association of Cycling With All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Among Persons With Diabetes: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8290339/
• Potential for reduced premature mortality by current and increased bicycle commuting: a health impact assessment using registry data on home and work addresses in Stockholm, Sweden: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7849870/
• Get on your bike: Study shows walking, cycling and e-biking make a significant impact on carbon emissions, Oxford: https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2021-02-02-get-your-bike-study-shows-walking-cycling-and-e-biking-make-significant-impact
• Bicycle Technology, Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bicycle-technology/
• A Classic Graphic Reveals Nature’s Most Efficient Traveler, Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-human-on-a-bicycle-is-among-the-most-efficient-forms-of-travel-in-the/
  Energy and Equity, Ivan Illich: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1683220.Energy_and_Equity