Khosrowshahi then admitted, “I think 10 to 15 years from now this is going to be a real issue and ... I don’t have a neat answer for it.” That is a remarkable admission. The people building this future understand that mass disruption may be coming. They just do not have a clear answer for what happens when or if it arrives. WHEN SOMEONE ELSE OWNS THE CAR, THEY MAKE THE RULES For many readers, the problem with this rearrangement of ownership may not be immediately apparent. Sure, potential job disruption could be an issue, but what is the problem with turning transportation into a service? For many, it might even sound appealing. No more car maintenance. No more insurance. No more parking headaches. Just order a ride through an app and go. The concern arises when you consider the implications of giving massive corporations control over huge swaths of the transportation system. As of now, transportation is largely decentralized. Decisions about travel are mostly left to individual commuters. They decide where they want to go, when they want to go there and how they choose to travel, with very little oversight. In a future in which corporations such as Google, Uber and Blackstone own vast fleets of vehicles, those corporations may feel empowered to make some of those decisions for you. After all, they own the vehicle, not you. Consider how social media companies have acted in recent years, stirring concerns about “big tech censorship.” These corporations pressed their thumbs on the scale of public discourse by banning certain personalities, suppressing content and demonetizing viewpoints. Is it inconceivable that some of these same corporations, or others like them, could exercise similar practices in the transportation sector? Could people be denied access to transportation services based on their political beliefs or statements they have made on social media (which has happened already)? Could access be limited to curtail climate change? Could environmental, social and governance principles or other corporate social credit systems encourage companies to restrict travel based on a user’s carbon footprint? Could the political winds of the day lead platforms to restrict rides to a firearms store, a church or a specific political rally? The original “you’ll own nothing” article was meant to illustrate an economy in which goods and assets were increasingly provided as services rather than sold directly to consumers. The reason that article drew such backlash is the same reason we should be vigilant about the future described by Uber’s CEO. When someone else owns the thing in question, they make the rules, not you. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or the Texas Automobile Dealers Association. This article was originally published on theepochtimes.com and has been edited for clarity. To view the original article, scan the QR code. https://www.theepochtimes.com/ opinion/when-someone-elseowns-the-car-they-can-dictatewhere-you-travel-6027288 11 DEALERS’ CHOICE
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