The SEM-B Mobility Corp. is in
the design and manufacture stage of a semi-autonomous electric mini-bus that
will carry up to 12 passengers and would act as a first-mile/last-mile carrier
in what will be the fully integrated transit systems of the future. Because of
its design, this mini-bus offers passengers safety, security and will meet
health (COVID-19) requirements. With its ride-hailing capabilities (app), the mini-bus
can make multiple passenger stops to and from transit hubs. It is the goal
of The SEM-B Mobility Corp. to have a small fleet of these mini-buses
operational within the next two years.
Highlights:
The SEM-B Mobility Corp. and its network are in the
design, development and manufacture stage of a semi-autonomous electric mini-bus
network. Each mini-bus can carry up to 12 passengers and is a first-mile/last-mile
carrier in what will be the fully integrated transit systems of the future. The
mini-bus will initially have a driver/safety person with the goal of becoming
fully autonomous when technically feasible. Because of its design, this mini-bus
offers passengers safety and security, and meets health (COVID-19) requirements.
With its ride-hailing capabilities (app), the mini-bus can make multiple
passenger stops to and from transit hubs. It is the goal of The SEM-B Mobility
Corp. to have a fleet of these mini-buses operational within the next two
years.
The SEM-B mini-bus has four rows of three seats and doors
for each row. It has a driver/safety person and limited driverless automation.
The seats are similar to Vancouver Sky Train seats and
each row is separated from the other rows with Plexiglas, thus making a secure,
clean compartment, and the doors can be electronically locked by the passengers
for added security and health. SEM-B is a town bus only, with a maximum speed
of 60 to 70 km per hour (45 miles per hour). The average ride would be less
than 30 minutes and cost $5 per ride. SEM-B would pick up and drop off other
passengers on route.
The ride-hailing app is off the shelf and well seasoned
by companies such as Uber and Lyft. An SEM-B will notify when it is near, and
you get on the bus once it arrives at your requested location. No more waiting
outside in the rain for your bus. The bus will also pick up and let off other
passengers on the route to your destination.
The computer in each SEM-B
communicates with the SEM-B AI network as well as all city and transit smart
communications, and, through the use of AI, will become increasingly more
efficient.
A SEM-B will be called to your location for pick up on your phone app. The bus will know your location by your phone GPS; you simply type in your destination and the bus will take you to your destination and automatically charge your account ($5) for the ride.
Although fully autonomous driving systems are still several years away, semi-automated systems are available off the shelf. A driver/safety person is still required.
Once a day, a SEM-B would return to an automatic charging station and be physically inspected and cleaned.
Rooftop solar panels extend battery life between charges.
Since the mini-bus is manufactured with off-the-shelf components, from the rolling chassis to all electronic and interior components, there is no need for expensive research and development and difficult component sourcing.
In 2019, a Reuters analysis of public data released by the
29 major global automakers found that they are investing at least $300-billion
in EVs over the next five to 10 years.
With approximately one billion vehicles on the road
around the world, trading the one billion fossil-powered vehicles with one
billion electric-powered vehicles sounds great from an environmental and air-pollution
standpoint. That is until you factor in that 60% of the world’s electricity
comes from fossil fuels.
Further, the billion-vehicle trade from fossil to
electric power will do nothing to ease the congestion choking every major city.
Nor will it eliminate the expense of owning and operating a vehicle. Nor will
it increase efficiency of transportation, with 75% of vehicles being single
occupant and 90% of the vehicle’s time spent in parking lots. Nor will it
reduce the cost to construct and maintain the infrastructure needed to
facilitate these vehicles.
To solve these problems, the total number of vehicles
simply has to be reduced.
It is estimated that each mini-bus in an integrated SEM-B
mobility network would replace as many as 20 cars.
The SEM-B mobility network would not replace existing
rapid transit but would rather enhance it and make it more efficient.
For rail transit, the SEM-B mobility network would act as
a transportation option for people going to and from the stations, thus
eliminating parking lots near the stations and making the rail option viable
for those living some distance from the station.
Buses would continue to be an option on high-use
corridors but SEM-B could take over the less-used areas where large buses run
nearly empty most of the time. Buses would also run from hub to hub. Passengers
would then transfer to SEM-B to their final destination.
Taxis and Uber would
continue as normal, especially for customers with luggage etc. The only means
of transportation the SEM-B network would reduce would be the single-occupant
cars.
To date, all autonomous passenger vehicles are operating as shuttle services only in geo-fenced areas such as airports, docks, parks and other enclosed areas. Driverless shuttle tests have begun in Gjesdal (Norway), Helsinki (Finland), Tallinn (Estonia), Lamia (Greece) and Helmond (The Netherlands). They are also in limited use in Las Vegas, Toronto and Yellowstone National Park.
These systems are very expensive and limited in their
ability because of geo fencing and route restrictions.
IT IS TIME TO MOVE FROM A SHUTTLE BUS TO A VIABLE MINI-BUS
TRANSPRTATION NETWORK...
With a Semi-autonomous Electric Mini-Bus (SEM-B) Mobility network:
The Uber model and taxis are single-fare models, picking
up a single fare at a time and ignoring other potential fares on route. This
makes first-mile/last-mile transportation very expensive, and most people opt
for driving their own cars to and from transit hubs or other destinations. It
also means that taxi drivers spend a lot of time driving to and from fares or
waiting for a dispatch call.
In contrast, an SEM-B will pick up as many as 12 fares
from a transit hub and deliver them efficiently (using routing AI network
computing) to their front door, whether that be the home, office, store or gym.
With multiple fares on board, each individual fare will be as low as $5 per
ride. Naturally, this inexpensive, efficient ride network would greatly
increase the demand and overall ridership.
Each SEM-B can be owner operated (The SEM-B Mobility Corp.),
will offer lease to own or can be owned by green funds since they would qualify
as green investments.
There are 300 million cars in the U.S. and Canada. A
study concluded that 75% of all automobile trips are less than 10 miles. This
is exactly the market that the SEM-B mobility network is going after. To reduce
just 1% of the cars on the road, three million cars, would require 100,000 SEM-B
mini-buses. This could generate an estimated $700-million in recurring annual
revenue to the SEM-B network.
The SEM-B Mobility Corp. will generate this revenue by
charging a small percentage of all fares through the SEM-B mobility network.
Game changers of transportation 101
On Sept. 27, 1825, Locomotion
No. 1 became the world's first steam
locomotive to carry passengers on
a public line, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, in Northeast England.
And the world of transportation was changed forever. THIS WAS A TRUE GAME CHANGER. Within 80 years, train tracks criss-crossed the country and trains were travelling over 50 miles per hour.
However, there was still one problem...
Whether you were a passenger or whether you were
transporting goods, getting to and from the train station was still a very
slow, laborious task.
For 2000 years the main engine for transportation was the
horse.
Then in 1908, the first production motorcars were made
and sold, and within 20 years, the horse was relegated to recreation and the
track.
For the next 100 years, the motor car dominated the
transportation system and today, in 2021, there are over one billion cars are
on the roads of the world. The car revolution happened very quickly. In 1908,
Henry Ford started production and, by 1915, he produced his one millionth car,
and, by 1927, he had produced 15 million cars and the industry had dozens of
competitors. This competition was of little concern to Mr. Ford, since he knew
his main competitor was the horse and buggy, and he won that competition hands
down.
Likewise, with one billion vehicles on the road
worldwide, the market for an alternative is huge. There is plenty of room for
many forms of alternative transportation, and the companies that will rise to
the top are the ones that are most efficient, easy to operate and economically
viable.
But the automobile revolution came at a tremendous cost in congestion, pollution and the depletion of hydrocarbons. Enter the electric car...
The electric car promises near zero pollution and a huge reduction in hydrocarbon consumption, but it still has two big downsides:
Today, rapid transit is all the rage. But rapid transit costs billions (if not trillions) of dollars to build, takes years and decades to build out (time we simply do not have), and requires people to gather in large numbers in very small spaces.
The automobile revolution came at tremendous costs in
congestion, pollution and environmental damage, as well as huge infrastructure
costs and the depletion of natural resources.
Automobiles produce an estimated 25% of the world’s
pollution emissions. Electric cars appear to be a solution, that is until you
factor in that 60% of the world’s electricity comes from fossil fuels.
The largest share of world
electricity generation by source was coal at 41%, natural gas at 22%, hydro at
16%, nuclear at 11%, other sources (such as solar,
wind, geothermal and biomass) at 6% and oil at 4%. Coal and natural gas were
the most used energy fuels for generating electricity.
With only three million EVs of the 300 million cars on U.S.
roads today, it is estimated that the U.S. electrical grid will max out at 24
million EVs. The electrical grid will have to increase 12-fold to accommodate a
completely EV transportation system.
Neither automobile nor electric cars offer any solution
to congestion or the high cost of infrastructure construction or maintenance.
The demands of the automobile on the environment and
natural resources are unsustainable.
Likewise, high-speed bullet trains and flying cars are no
solution to the biggest problem in transportation (namely, the first-mile/last-mile
dilemma), when a practical, low-cost, easily adaptable solution is available.
Western liberal democracies hold
that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are inalienable human rights.
They also aspire to food and
lodging security as a worthy objective. Some would say it is also a human
right.
It could also be argued that
mobility is an absolute necessity for human life and well-being as we know it.
Hospitals and schools are considered a common good. During
the 1950s and 1960s, huge infrastructure projects building freeways and
superhighways were considered the common good, since moving goods and food
along country roads was no longer an option.
Today, the main source of mobility is the automobile,
which is powered by fossil fuels, which are the main source of pollution. There
are one billion automobiles (including semi-trailer trucks) in the world today,
most powered by fossil fuels. One alternative is to switch from internal
combustion engines to electric motors. But exchanging one billion combustion
engines with one billion electric motors is not a solution, since over 60% of
the worlds electricity is generated by fossil fuels.
There needs to be a solution that is economical,
practical, and reduces both pollution and congestion. The SEM-B solution
addresses all of these, plus it is open source and non-proprietary. Once
autonomous self-driving becomes a reality, there will be many companies in the
field. This is a good thing, since the market is huge and time is of the essence.
Mobility has and still should be considered a common
good. It is time to get off the sidelines and start participating in the next
mobility revolution.
Vancouver, along with every city in the world, has shelves full of studies on how to reduce automobile congestion. The latest Vancouver study was adopted by Vancouver council in November 2020.
https://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/transportation-2040.aspx
The key takeaway from the report is:
“Given limited resources
and practical constraints, achieving our goals requires us to prioritize our
efforts and explore innovative funding and design solutions.”
“Our Transportation 2040 Plan aims to have
two-thirds of all trips in Vancouver made by walking, cycling, and transit by
2040.”
Walking and cycling are clearly not an alternative to the
automobile. And yet, after eight years of studies, walking and cycling is the
headline on their website. You cannot force people out of their automobiles. To
get them out of their cars…
YOU MUST OFFER PEOPLE A BETTER SOLUTION!
With a fleet of only 100 buses:
SEM-B economics is very simple.
SEM-B Mobility has patents
pending, and is in the process of obtaining copyright, patents, trademarks,
confidential designs and intellectual property pertaining to, but not limited
to, the semi-autonomous electric mini-bus technology.
The SEM-B technology includes,
but is not limited to, the integration of cell technology, ultrasonic sensors,
cameras, GPS, lidar, radar, short-range radio, central AI computing, on-demand
ride-sharing app, solar roof panels, safety partitions and a connected mobility
network platform.
Personal mobility, multifare,
COVID-19 compliant, EV mini-buses with a maximum of four rows x three or four
seats. Each row is separated by a Plexiglass shield and has an opening door on
each side. Each bus is accessible by ride-hailing app providing d2d, first-mile/last-mile
and intraurban mobility. The middle row will have foldable seats and
wheel-chair accessibility. Buses are dispatched and AI route optimized to
provide shortest distance between multiple pickups and drop-offs.
Buses may be equipped to include, but is not limited to, the following
technologies: fully autonomous driving, integrated cellular, ultrasonic
sensors, cameras, GPS, lidar, radar, short-range radio, central network
connectivity, on-demand ride-sharing app, solar roof panels, COVID-19 sanitization,
safety partitions. Collectively these sensors will provide network geo-spatial data that may be used
for the advancement of fully autonomous driving data for internal purposes but
may also be a stand-alone exportable database that can be resold to original
equipment manufacturers, urban planners and other users.
Imagine a quiet green city.
Imagine a city without cars, congestion, pollution or
emissions.
Imagine a city where your
transportation needs are filled by a network of intelligent mini-buses.
Imagine a transportation network that offers you door-to-door service through ride-hailing apps.
Imagine a transportation network that offers you your own safe, lock-secure and health-compliant compartment, separated from other compartments with a Plexiglas shield.
Imagine a transportation network that co-ordinates with the transit systems presently operating in your city.
Imagine a transportation network with zero emissions and
rooftop solar panels to power battery life extender.
Imagine a transportation network that costs as little as $5
a ride.
Imagine a transportation network that makes you feel good
about your busy, mobile lifestyle.
Join the SEM-B Community and be a part of this exciting future. Together we can bring a better, modern, urban transport system to the community!
Register today!