Canadian Legislative News

A new global report on mobility and emerging transport trends, The Global Mobility Industry Outlook for 2018, points to potential growth for fleet managers in Canada and rapid evolution for transport in general, as traditional vehicle ownership models advance to meet the expectations of today’s consumer and traveler.

The report envisions continued rapid growth in carsharing, ride-hailing, and other non-traditional forms of transit driven by parallel growth in ever-more autonomous vehicles and the mass proliferation of smartphones capable of supporting transit apps.

Carsharing and ride-hailing services are predicted to continue to grow rapidly throughout 2018 in Canada and across the world. Nonetheless, Canada continues to be dominated by the traditional private ownership model in the auto sector, but as technology continues to advance both on the automotive side and the mobile app space, the potential for very strong growth for fleets in Canada remains compelling.

There is a presumption that Canadians will not abandon their own vehicle any time soon, but increasingly, urban dwellers (which make up a growing share of the Canadian population) are supplementing their own driving habits with reliance on carsharing and ride-hailing services. Present platforms mostly keep those cars in the hands of privately licensed drivers. However, it is not hard to imagine a not-too-distant future in which largely autonomous vehicle fleets ferry thousands of passengers per day around cities, stopping only to refuel or recharge.