Page 211 - Are You Future Ready?
P. 211
Chapter Three - Right Place
a switch to electric cars will lead to a substantial drop in
the cost of robotaxis by 80% to less than US50 cents (HK$4)
per mile, half the cost of a private car. Currently, ride-hailing
services cost about USD2.5 per mile (HK$19.5, equivalent
to the taxi fare for the first two kilometers in Hong Kong).
It is much more expensive than a private car operating on
US80-90 cents per mile (about HK$7), revealed the Chief
Executive of Uber. Meanwhile, each private owned car
spends on average 96% of its usable time parking, when
the cost of maintenance, depreciation, insurance and
other running costs are added together, cars are the most 209
underused asset consumers own, as pointed out by Fitch
International, a credit rating agency.
Benefit #2: Air pollution improvement
An autonomous ride-hailing service requires no parking
space for car users, and poses no worry that drivers will
fall asleep while driving. At the same time, air pollution will
also be greatly improved since electric vehicles will mainly
be used. Therefore, the robotaxi is expected to intrude on
the private car market shortly in the future.