Do you want know what happens when you get an almost unlimited taxi-pass?
I’m starting a new blog here, regarding the development and application of new technologies in the human transportation-industries. Maas Global, a finnish company residing in Helsinki, invited me to be the first business account test-user for their Whim-service. Whim combines Uberish taxi-ordering, public transportation-tickets and cheap short-term car rentals that I’ve been using since december 2016. Even though this blog is made in cooperation with Maas Global, I’m going to look also at other companies too providing alternative forms of transportation.

I’m running now two companies here in Helsinki: a VR-tech-company and a design-manufacturing company. As running one business wouldn’t be enough, the efficiency and cutting unproductive time is key in finding a balance between work-hours and relaxation time. When Maas Global offered me a chance to be a test user for the business-service, which would include unlimited taxi, 10 days of rental cars per month and unlimited public transport, I was more than exited! I would save considerable amounts of time and win an ease of mind. It also gave a long needed kick to start writing about the alternative human transport-revolution in the happening.
I have quite a lot experience driving in the Helsinki metropolitan area, as the first half of my adult life, was spent working in the transportation business. First driving trucks and vans, then driving taxis. The second half of my adult life was moved to design and architecture. Helsinki is the capital of Finland with a metropolitan-area of roughly 1,1 million inhabitants. The public transportation-network is good and the monthly ticket is about 50–100€, depending how far do you need to go from the city-center. A few years ago, a company called Ekorent started an electric-car rental service, where Nissan Leafs are rented in self-service manner with a flat hourly-fee, ranging from 8 to 11 euros per starting hour. This was great for those “quick” trips to Ikea and hardware-stores, that normal car-renting would just be a bit too much. This service was among the first ones, that combined the possibilities of more efficient transportation-resource through the smart use of software. Like everywhere, software is flooding also to the way we conceive transportation. Whim is for now the service that combines the most of different possibilities and I think we are just in the beginning of this development. I also enjoy trying out different cars, so there’s an extra-perk in being surprised and getting to try different cars. I’ll be reviewing some of these cars in later posts, as some of them already give glimpses to the future.

After using a limitless supply of taxis for four weeks now, combined with car-rentals and unlimited public transport, my relationship to moving is already starting to change. Originally I was expecting to concentrate on the business-use of the service, but it’s actually changing the way I’m balancing my sports training with my working and homeyfying. I think that this issue is at the center of the development of these transportation services: With rearranging our societal transport needs, we don’t actually change just our moving-habits, but we can augment the whole quality of our lives.
Helsinki has become an interesting test-ground for alternative means of human transport and I’ll try to give you a peak to what everyday life might look in the surprisingly near future from a commuting perspective. I think it’s going to look way more weirder, than we are expecting now, but as everywhere, there has never been a better time to be human and alive. I’m planning to update this blog 1–2 times a week and happy to hear your opinions and comments. If you also have some tips on new services coming available in the field of alternative human transports anywhere in the world, I’m more than interested of learning from them.
Just keep on moving!
Lauri

Lauri Lemmenlehti is a 36-year-old landscape architect and an entrepreneur, living in Helsinki, Finland.
contact: moving.mr.lemmenlehti@gmail.com
