Ford’s Future Plans May Change How We Look at Our Trucks

Using Systems Thinking to Return Our City Streets to the Community

So, how do we create this smarter system, one that can offset inevitable increases in demand with intelligence and efficiency? Clearly, we can’t redesign our cities from scratch or make significant investments in new infrastructure that follows the same models. What we need to do is unleash our creativity to provide innovative solutions to our transportation systems that improve them for the good of everyone using our roadways.

At Ford, we’re developing solutions that can help synchronize this cacophony of services and functions to orchestrate a safer, more efficient city environment. Advancing our complex urban transportation systems to this level entails the large-scale connection of various, distinct bits of information. Our cities need a platform that can facilitate the flow of information and perform base processes — such as payment methods or identity verification — to support the entire ecosystem. Working with our partners at Autonomic, we’re developing exactly that with the creation of the Transportation Mobility Cloud — an open, cloud-based platform for mobility services.

With this platform, transportation modes in cities can work together. For example, instead of double parking on an already crowded street, a delivery van could reserve and pay for curbside parking, and the city would be able to tell the next vehicle in line when that same space will be available. With the Transportation Mobility Cloud, residents and businesses could have the information and access necessary to make smarter choices for their schedules, for external factors such as weather, and for their wallets.