If only there was a forum where we could find a consensus on what ‘mobility’ in the region really means – oh…
In the run up to next week’s Fleet and Mobility Summit at the Radisson Red Hotel in Silicon Oasis, I’ve been spending a lot of time talking to speakers and panelists about what that M-word means. It is fair to say I got a lot of different answers.
To some, it’s the use of technology and data in transportation to improve safety and efficiency – and where possible plug into the smart infrastructure on offer. To others, it’s the vehicles themselves, the trucks, cars, vans, and the greener ways they can be made and driven. Whether its electric, hydrogen or even more efficient fossil fuel burning, mobility is about making the fleet sector a greener member of society.
There are others that argue that mobility is really about changing the way the customer interacts with their transporter or the services they want to access. On-demand, ride-hailing, car-sharing, aggregation are all here to stay and the old descriptors and methods of running a fleet are slowly being put to one side.
We also have exciting developments in machine learning, AI and the metaverse to explore – and it’ll be great to dig into those next week.
My view, is that mobility means a little of all of the above, and more. And I will continue to advocate for all of them, even when it is unrealistic to expect, say, heavy electric trucks to make a meaningful impact in the market for many years.
Ultimately, the Fleet and Mobility Summit is one of the first chances to open the discussion up on what it means to be operating in and around the fleet sector at this time and make your choice regarding what mobility will mean for your business in the years ahead. And that’s exciting.
This month also marks the opening up on nominations for the 2023 Truck and Fleet Awards. Last year, we invited thousands of people to take part in the voting and we’ve tweaked the process this time around to make it easier for nominees to submit their entry before voting starts in earnest.
New for 2023, potential winners will be able to submit their nominations as part of a pre-selection ahead of a public vote. Submitting your entry is easy, simply upload your nomination with images and other information, including technical specifications, before 20th October.
From the 1st November, we will then be staging a public vote to find out the market’s preferred winner in each of the open categories. This is expected to close on the 1st December. For most of the technical categories, we will be holding a judging process conducted by a panel of industry experts ahead of the Awards evening on 24th January 2023 where the winners will be announced.
While we may all disagree on what mobility means, I’m sure when it comes to finding the best mobility providers and solutions in the market – we got this.
