When I visited Kenya with my classmates for a global study trip, they had a mobile-phone payment platform called M-Pesa – the "M" stands for mobile; Pesa is Swahili for money. M-Pesa, launched in 2007, allows users to perform a range of financial transactions through their mobile phone, including deposits, withdrawals, transfers and paying for goods and services, and the phone doesn't have to be a smartphone, either – transfers and payments can be made via SMS. The popularity of the service quickly grew. As of last year, there were 25 million registered users across Africa.
During that trip one of the entrepreneurs we were visiting with commented that many Kenyans had skipped landlines and gone straight to mobile phones. M-Pesa skips opening a physical bank account or visiting a branch.
Last week, during Elon Musk’s visit to the World Government Summit, he announced the launch of his car company, Tesla, in the UAE. One of the biggest challenges, he said, would be shifting car buyers from petrol to electric. However, something else Musk said during his visit got me thinking about the UAE’s approach to transportation.
He said: “I think in 10 years, getting in a car will be like getting in an elevator.” He was referring to driverless cars. He believes that the millennial generation are less inclined to own a car, although in the UAE, this is highly debatable, because as a society we’re big car-lovers, and our public transport systems currently mean it can be hard to get around without owning a car.
Could the UAE be the country that skips traditional public-transportation systems and goes straight to driverless cars?
Instead of investment in public transport, would funds be better spent on the infrastructure to support a driverless-transportation system?
You think I’m crazy, right? Well it’s not so far-fetched. In August, the world’s first driverless taxi took to the streets of Singapore for trials by a company called nuTonomy, with the full launch of the commercial service expected by next year. “This will change the way cities are built,” said Doug Parker, nuTonomy’s chief operating officer.
As nuTonomy started its testing, our own Roads and Transport Authority began trials with a smart driverless vehicle that could accommodate about 10 passengers, between Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard and Downtown Dubai. It was a starting point for the RTA’s driverless-mobility strategy, which aims to make 25 per cent of total mobility in Dubai driverless by 2030. I have a feeling that date might come forward if Musk has anything to do with it.
The UAE population is split on a driverless future, according to a YouGov poll: 58 per cent of UAE residents are “enthusiastic” about driverless technology, with 61 per cent believing that it will allow everyone to get around easier. Safety remains a concern, though, with 73 per cent worried about technology failures causing accidents.
However, a study by global consulting firm McKinsey & Company claims that driverless cars could prevent 90 per cent of all accidents in the United States thanks to decreased human error.
It’s not a matter of if it will happen, but when. Driverless cars are already among us, being tested. So which cities will be the first to embrace them and have the necessary infrastructure and regulations necessary for them to transport passengers safely?
Am I crazy to think that the UAE could embrace a driverless system before a full public-transportation system? Maybe, but remember just last year, we announced plans to build the Hyperloop, a driverless system that would propel passengers from Abu Dhabi to Dubai at 1,200kph in a high-speed capsule through a depressurised underwater vacuum tunnel in just 12 minutes.
Khalid Al Ameri is an Emirati columnist and social commentator. He lives in Abu Dhabi with his wife and two sons.
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