Skip to main content

Bill Ford discusses future mobility at World Congress

Bill Ford’s thoughts on the future of mobility may be a surprise to many as he told delegates about his concerns over what he termed ‘Global Gridlock’. “You can’t just keep on sending more vehicles into the urban environment, it isn’t going to work.”
September 8, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Bill Ford Executive Chairman of Ford

Bill Ford’s thoughts on the future of mobility may be a surprise to many as he told delegates about his concerns over what he termed ‘Global Gridlock’. “You can’t just keep on sending more vehicles into the urban environment, it isn’t going to work.”

278 Ford’s executive chairman said the current model of urban mobility was under threat and believes it is imperative that in future all transportation modes are interconnected as that is the only way to cope with a growing population in an increasingly urbanised world. However, he said: “Cities are struggling with transportation today and will do so even more in the future and often the money isn’t there to fix the infrastructure – even if they knew how to fix it.

“We need to redefine mobility for the coming century… but there is no one single silver bullet,” he said, adding that many of the individual ‘building blocks’ have been developed but they must be seamlessly integrated. 

When it comes to connected vehicle technology he highlighted major challenges that remain with privacy and bringing the often less tech-savvy older generation on board, saying: “We can’t afford to leave anybody behind.”  

Booth: 425
%$Linker: 2 Asset <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 36970 0 oLinkAsset <span class="mouselink">www.ford.com </span> Ford Website true /EasySiteWeb/GatewayLink.aspx?alId=36970 false false%>

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Imtech brings ImFlow and ImCity solutions to Intertraffic
    March 24, 2014
    The Traffic & Infrastructure division of Imtech, the global, Netherlands-headquartered technical services and ICT company, is exhibiting a vast array of transport-related solutions and services from across Europe, North America and Brazil. This year’s exhibits demonstrate live projects from across the global business, from traffic management systems in Copenhagen and St. Petersburg to parking technology in Rio de Janeiro, tunnel solutions in Maastricht to telecommunications networks in Brussels. The company
  • ITS World Congress debut for RuggedCom’s switches
    September 26, 2012
    Among several new products that RuggedCom will unveil at the ITS World Congress is the RS900GP, a 10-port PoE managed Ethernet switch with gigabit uplink ports. It comes standard with eight PoE+ ports and optional dual gigabit ports for fibre or copper. With a total power budget of 240 Watts, a single switch can power multiple CCTV cameras and wireless access points with the capacity for additional devices.
  • TSS demonstrates Aimsun Online real-time decision support system
    October 22, 2012
    The Aimsun Online real-time decision support system for traffic management is taking centre stage at the TSS-Transport Simulation Systems (TSS) stand. Its dynamic, high-speed simulation of large areas allows traffic operators to accurately forecast the future network flow patterns that will result from a particular traffic management or information provision strategy. TSS is highlighting the fact that, among other projects, Aimsun Online has been selected as the simulation-based subsystem in the decision su
  • Asya Traffic Signalling offers LED safety technology
    March 25, 2014
    An array of advanced LED safety solutions is available from Asya Traffic Signalling. These solar powered safety systems are designed for multiple installations, with the Urban Speed Warning System featuring high performance reflective materials for maximum conspicuity and a low weight of just 19kg for ease of installation and portability.