Occupier-Edge_Ed5

of course, dramatically impact the

trucking industry as driverless vehicles

are able to carry freight 24/7 with

reduced labour involvement. In fact,

Reuters reported recently that Tesla

is developing a long-haul, all electric

semi-truck with autonomous driving

capabilities that moves in “platoons”

and automatically follow the direction

of the lead vehicle.

Secondary impacts.

Beyond

the automobile industry and the

consumers of various modes of

transportation, there are other

constituents who will be greatly

impacted by the proliferation of a

driverless vehicle economy. As with

any technology breakthrough that

redefines the culture, there will be

winners and losers. A few examples

of areas that may be positively and/or

negatively impacted include:

Local governments:

How are driverless

cars regulated? Do roads and highways

include driverless and driver-led

vehicles in the same locations? Does

traffic increase in certain locations

because of the increased ease,

and decreased cost, of driverless

transportation? How much rezoning of

real estate–parking lots, gas stations,

etc.–needs to take place? How is public

transportation ridership impacted?

Public safety:

To what degree will

automobile accidents, and related

injuries and deaths, be minimised or

eliminated? Where are police and

highway patrol resources reallocated if

speeding and other infractions are no

longer common?

Labour:

Which skill sets and

occupations will be reduced

or eliminated (e.g., cab, truck,

and delivery drivers, traffic rout

administrators, emergency room

personnel)?

Other questions:

Will driverless cars

be owned by its users – as most

vehicles are today – or will it be a TAAS

economy with manufacturers, ride

share services, or other companies

being the on-demand providers of the

majority of vehicles on the road? Will

driverless cars also be heavily weighted

towards EV technology, thus greatly

reducing the need for gas stations,

emissions testing, and combustion

engine mechanics?

Although there are still a lot of

unknowns when it comes to the future

of driverless vehicles, here’s what we

do expect: driverless cars will be game

changing technology that changes

more than just how we get around

town. It has the power to increase

employee productivity, free up real

estate for more productive uses, lower

the costs of technology, and greatly

reduce automobile accidents. And with

1.3 million people dying every year

worldwide from auto accidents – most

of them caused by human error – and

anticipated savings of up to $190

billion a year from reduced health

costs, driverless cars can’t come fast

enough.

up space in and around existing

commercial real estate. This will offer

myriad challenges and opportunities

for owners and occupiers.

Provide more location

flexibility.

When it comes to

driverless vehicles, the old saying,

“location, location, location” takes on

a diminished meaning. Sure, location

will always matter, but driverless

transportation has the power to reduce

the stresses of a daily commute and

provide opportunities for commute

time to be used more productively.

Both of these factors will make it

increasingly less important to live close

to the office for some employees. This

may increase the demand for housing,

and with it supporting retail, in the

exurbs of cities as the distance from

ones work can be increased with a

lesser impact on one’s quality of life.

Companies can open offices more

easily in less expensive secondary

markets and draw from a larger

talent pool as location becomes less

critical. The relationship with public

transportation may also change as

immediate proximity is also not as

important since driverless cars are

plentiful and can easily and cost

effectively get people from the train or

bus to their final destination.

Industrial real estate users –

manufacturers, fulfillment centres,

and warehouses – will also see

changes from the advent of driverless

technology. Just as the advent of new

energy sources allowed for mills to

move away from rivers, an abundance

of low-cost, unmanned vehicles will

open up manufacturers to less costly

areas less reliant on air and sea ports

or train lines. The reduced and/or

eliminated labour costs associated

with moving materials will allow for

companies to take advantage of

lower real estate costs that come with

less convenient locations. This will,

Cushman &Wakefield

is the first commercial

real estate service firm

to the market with a

global comprehensive

automative SPG offering.

Its mission is to deeply

understand and address the

distinctive challenges of

the automotive sector from

labour issues, logistics,

infrastructure, technology,

credits and incentives, to

the unique requirements of

the real estate itself.

DISRUPTION