Transportation of material goods

This page was created on Apr 19, 2010 and was last updated on Oct 12, 2011

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One can use the carpooling example to design a system of transportation of material goods from producers to distribution centers and even directly to consumers. These systems can use private cars, or cars owned by companies which are not loaded to their full capacity. Mobile GPS smart devices can support very complex coordination and logistical applications.

Technology-assisted democratic transportation is probably more suitable to short distance transportation involving a single transport agent. But it is also possible to conceive a very long distance transportation system, with multiple transport agents involved, exchanging load on-the-fly. Special packages can be designed, with a special identification and tracking system. For example, a barcode can be provided by a central system to the sender for a particular package, containing all the required mailing information. Smart phones with cameras can read the barcode, and can register the package for a particular transport agent for a portion of the travel. Every time the package exchanges hands a new transport agent is registered for the new portion of the travel and the time estimation for the completion of this portion. The sender is able to follow the package as it moved in space, reading the position of the GPS mobile device of the transport agent.

Transport agents can be registered members of a transportation network, with a history associated and a reliability factor (reputation) attached to them. A user can chose the level of reliability to send its package, the time priority, etc. The cost of transportation can vary according to the reliability factor, and the time of travel. The total cost is shared among all transport agents proportional to the distance of travel, and perhaps according to their reliability factor. This system has built in the incentive to give a good service.

What is the connection between technology-assisted democratic transportation and the multitude social movement? The new technology makes it easier for individuals to get an essential service directly from other individuals. Thus, an important share of the transportation market is shifted from centralized systems to the multitude. This leads eventually to greater control over the transportation infrastructure, to a better planning of these infrastructures, according to the needs of the multitude and based on sustainable principles.

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Comments

By Rondo (10/31/2010 7:05:56):

Interesting. As with Taxi Cabs there is the practice of making a certain gesture to catch a "hack" (as it is called here) to function as an unlicensed taxi. As this is unregulated there is some element of risk stepping into a hack (not to mention legalities) but a hack will often offer a competitive rate, as the driver was probably already en route to his own destination already.

It sounds like you are suggesting an infrastructure visible in realtime to enable hack-couriers to transport material in place of people.

I would predict a great deal of authoritative resistance to the idea, but in the unlikely event that gasoline no longer existed and it were NECESSARY to move material by hand and foot such a system would be indispensable.