The traditional car ownership model is screwed. The one where one person owns one car drives it alone, and adds to the crazy traffic jams.



The government could raise toll rates, widen the roads, and hire traffic police all you want — but traffic jams will never go away unless we change the way we move.



We already have evidence of how technology will help.



Five years ago, the best we could do was pay for an expensive GPS system.



But today, you use Waze for free on your phone to find the smartest way to drive somewhere. Google has already been testing self-driving cars for more than five years. And Tesla, Apple, and Uber are in the game too.



A few months ago, my current twenty-year-old car broke down as I was heading to dinner with my girlfriend. We maneuvered it to a safe spot, locked the car and decided to leave it there.



I turned on Uber and requested a ride. Then we watched in fascination as the small vehicle icon crept towards us on the screen. Within fifteen minutes a new Honda City arrived — a much nicer vehicle than I can afford. 35km and 30 minutes later — as we arrived at dinner — I checked how much it had cost: less than a taxi.



Not only was I reminded that I have an awesome girlfriend (she handled things very calmly), I marveled at how drastically technology will change our lives.



I can’t predict the future, but here’s my bet:



In ten years’ time, when my “new” second-hand car is nineteen years old and starting to break down — I won’t have to buy a new one.