Knieps, G. “Internet of Things and the Economics of Shared Mobility”

The paper “Internet of Things and the Economics of Shared Mobility” (Knieps, G.) will be presented at the 7th Conference on the Regulation of Infrastructures (21-22June, 2018). 

ABSTRACT

In this paper the potentials for shared mobility services based on ICT innovations are characterized requiring a paradigm shift from intramodal transportation markets towards intermodal shared mobility markets. Heterogeneous ICT innovations are characterized entailing various combinations of App-based mobile communications, (camera based) sensor networks and big data processing. The potentials of shared mobility concepts to avoid traffic collapse and significantly reduce congestion and pollution in cities are considered referring to different simulation studies of the impact of complete or partial replacing of private vehicles in a city with shared mobility services. Furthermore, the changing role of regulations due to the transition from traditional intramodal transportation markets towards intermodal shared mobility services markets are considered. Firstly, the abolishment of legal entry barriers in the local taxi market and public transit market are required. Secondly, competition for subsidies of politically desired non-cost covering (shared) mobility services should be symmetrically for all active and potential providers of shared mobility services. Thirdly, technical regulation and consumer protection including privacy and cybersecurity for the shared mobility markets should be applied symmetrically and consistently. Finally, the role of pilot projects to establish shared mobility concepts are demonstrated.

The presentation is available here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Prof. Dr. Günter Knieps is professor of economics at the University of Freiburg and holds the chair of Network Economics, Competition Economics, and Transport Science. Before that he held a position as professor of microeconomics at Groningen (Netherlands). He studied economics and mathematics and obtained his PhD in Bonn. He held post-doc positions at Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania and obtained his habilitation in Berne. He is author of numerous publications on network economics, (de-)regulation, competition policy, and sector studies on network industries (e.g.transport, telecommunications and postal markets, internet and energy). He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Councils of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy and of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.