Signal 4
— Urban Mobility in the Blockchain Era
Blockchain, the hottest topic among the industries over the past five years, is a shared, unalterable and instantaneous global distributed ledger or database technology network running of the millions of devices. Based on a recent article by Harvard Business Review, it pushes the concept of blockchain further as “open to anyone, which not just information but anything of value — money, titles, deeds… intellectual property, and even votes — can be moved and stored securely and privately”. The question is how blockchain technology could potentially contribute to urban mobility.
In China, I had the experience of losing my subway ticket and receipt. I was requested for the penalty for the whole ride, but instead, I showed my purchase record on Wechat because I am using Wechat wallet for the ticket. It eventually saved me for the extra fee. One of my friends lost his monthly subway card and his receipt, and it almost took him three months of negotiating through email with his bank statements. I believe the methods of payment between different mode of transportation can be well integrated using the blockchain technology.
For the next decade of urban mobility, Blockchain technology can boost not just to facilitate a cashless society but more on building a secure data collection and sharing network. Also, I believe individuals can manage their data source and data usage with their daily route, such as GPS track, transit choice, real-time paces’ speed, etc as an asset for the software company to query using blockchain, in a way to protect personal privacy.
Image Credit:
1. https://www.bitfolio.org/when-blockchain-meets-urban-mobility-changing-face-transportation-industry
Reference:
1. Challenge calls for blockchain solutions for transport. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/news/news/challenge-calls-for-blockchain-solutions-for-transport-3438
2. Collier, P. (2018, March 30). Blockchain Urban Mobility: Exploring the Potential of the Tech World’s Next Big Thing. Retrieved from https://www.move-forward.com/blockchain-urban-mobility-exploring-the-potential-of-the-tech-worlds-next-big-thing/
