Please activate JavaScript!
Please install Adobe Flash Player, click here for download
ePaper created 2014-09-23, 08:46:06 | version 1.33.00
Issue Two 2014 9 In China “only” one in twenty people owns a car, whereas in Germany the fig- ure is one in two. However, China’s cities are already plagued by traffic jams and pol- lution emissions: “Due to the extreme par- ticulate values, the Chinese Academy for Social Sciences recently declared Beijing to be ‘unsuitable for human life’,” says Dr. Ul- rich Eberl, futurologist and head of innova- tion communication at Siemens AG. “What would happen if the Chinese wanted to be just as mobile as the Germans?” Futurologists such as Ulrich Eberl want to answer questions like these. The pioneer- ing thinkers develop scenarios for tomorrow, indicating directions and possibilities. Of course, there is no guarantee that what they describe will come true. However, their ideas can be useful for companies today in setting course for economic success tomorrow. Transport Dr. Ulrich Eberl is convinced that the world’s demand for transport will con- tinue to grow in future – and not only in individual transport but also through in- creasing globalisation in industry which will drive growth in goods traffic and the demand for individual mobility solutions. For the scientist, the only solution can be a combination of several innovations: “Electric and hybrid vehicles with elec- tricity from renewable resources, intelli- gently distributed logistics centres in the cities and on their outskirts, more use of the rails for transporting goods and – in many cases such as transporting medi- cines – also involving aerial drones.” With regard to individual mobility, the key term is “mobility on demand”: In future, it will be increasingly impor- tant to use mobility packages instead of owning vehicles. The objective is to net- work all means of transport: whether buses and railways or rented bicycles and electric cars. Via smartphone and Inter- net, the user will continuously receive the latest information about the traffic situation and will know what the best means of transport is for getting from A to B as quickly and cost effectively as possible. TitleIllustrations:Akindo–GettyImages,DVV How will we live tomorrow? What influences on society, business, politics and the environment will be relevant three, five or seven years from now? And what will this mean for the transport industry, for logistics and haulage in Germany, Europe and worldwide? Three well-known futurologists draw up different scenarios in trailer world. Companies can benefit from these ideas in order to safeguard their success tomorrow.