Artificial Intelligence is a Game-Changer for Fleet Management

The idea that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will change the transportation and mobility industry is not new, specifically the optimization of self-driving technology. But, how will it affect fleet management? At Union Leasing, we embrace technology that helps us deliver more value as trusted advisors and improves the customer experience.

And it’s no exception when it comes to AI, which is slowly playing a key role in changing the industry landscape. It’s an interesting space for us to watch as a fleet management company. 

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By 2020, Approximately 10 million Self-driving Cars will be on the Road

Thanks to machine learning, AI works to learn human behavior and reactions to unpredictable circumstances like weather conditions, or other vehicles on the road, which in turn allows vehicles to absorb data from their environments. And so, they learn and respond to what this data is revealing. In the future, AI will take control of the wheel – affecting not only the fleet management industry but also other industries like insurance, transportation and logistics. Think about taxis and Uber vehicles too, AI will transform the concept of the ‘shared vehicle’ into a driverless one.

 With approximately 10 million self-driving cars estimated to be on the road by 2020, vehicles will soon become a platform for drivers and passengers to use their transit time for personal activities, and not just a means to go from one place to another. By using on-demand mobility and data-driven services, passengers will be able to do things in their transit time that were previously unheard of. Think about it, you get into your driverless car as a passenger, fire up your laptop on your way to work for example, and finish some pending tasks during your commute. Or better yet, you get some sleep!

 

 AI-Driven Management Systems to Help Keep People Safe on the Road

 Right now, we’re already seeing safety technology being implemented by automakers, like lane-deviation alerts for instance. But driverless cars will take this to the next level by featuring advanced safety features like auto-braking, road-sign understanding, and more, to make sure that passengers are kept safe. A staggering number of around 1.3 million people die on the roads every year – but with AI-driven management systems in place, a huge difference will be made to saving lives, which is a top priority for fleet management companies.

 

 The Future: Self-organizing Fleets of Vehicles and Smart Cities

 With all of these changes taking shape, the industry of fleet management as we know it today will seemingly change to meet customer demands as well as the technology of car makers, who will maintain fleets of self-driving vehicles as opposed to simply selling cars. A report by McKinsey notes that while consumer mobility behavior is changing, only one out of ten cars will be sold in 2030 – giving rise to the idea of the shared vehicle and the ‘fit-for-purpose’ mobility solution.

 All of this is driven by AI, which currently has a market of USD 1.2 billion, and is expected to rise to 10.3 billion by 2030. Self-organizing fleets, autonomous cars and trucks, driverless taxis and Ubers, and smart cities, are just some examples of what’s in store for the transportation industry – and as a fleet management company, we have our eyes wide open for the opportunities that the AI industry presents.