I still remember those years when driving around the island was a continuous traffic jam. And I remember it without any nostalgia…
Once again, I have overslept. What a week I’m having. And thank goodness the autonomous vehicle service notifies me 15 minutes in advance, otherwise, I’d still be in the arms of Morpheus.
Fortunately, Mallorca is no longer what it used to be. I still remember those years when driving around the island was a constant traffic jam. And entering Palma… Phew.
I also remember the day the first autonomous vehicle company started operating. At first, there was nothing but fear, reluctance, and protests. But with the passage of time things changed. Palma is now a completely different city where pedestrians, cyclists, and autonomous vehicles coexist in harmony.
The cars in constant traffic jams have been replaced by vehicles capable of optimizing their routes to pick up more people and drop them off at their destinations. And all thanks to a mobile internet connection that ensures all the vehicles are interconnected, like a vast neural network. Each car knows the route, destination, and path of all the other vehicles. This is how not only the city, but the entire island, was managed to be decongested.
Will we ever see this city beyond an AI-created illustration? Image: Dall-e 3.
And you never lack a car at your doorstep to go wherever you need. Perhaps autonomous vehicles have done more for this island than any other technology. From the moment we discovered that we didn’t need a car per person – a car that, by the way, was parked 90% of the day – we realized that the smartest solution was an autonomous vehicle. A vehicle capable of being in constant motion, in continuous service, 24 hours a day if necessary. A vehicle without a driver.
They drive themselves, without any human interaction, and when the day is over, they head to the outskirts of the city to recharge overnight, ready to be at 100% the next morning. With the autonomous vehicle, in one fell swoop, the city began to breathe. The avenues became unnecessary and gave way to wide promenades, tree-lined paths, and bike lanes.
People became kinder, knowing they would never be late anywhere again due to traffic jams. And the bad fumes from traffic – and from drivers – turned into pleasant, friendly days. Every day.
And what can I say about the city’s architecture! Now it’s a pleasure to stroll along wide sidewalks, new parks, and squares that were once taken over by vehicles. For decades, the car consumed everything that was built.
Now I just have to take out my phone, open the app for my transport service, and within a few minutes, my vehicle is at my doorstep, ready to take me wherever I want. Easy, clean, and with a monthly fee that’s more than affordable.
How could we have lived before, surrounded by cars, motorcycles, and trucks everywhere?
I still remember that distant 2024 when, in a magazine called Mallorca Global Mag, I read a kind of science fiction article in which they talked about all this. And the truth is that they weren’t far off the mark, to be honest. They just fell a bit short: the autonomous vehicle brought us much more happiness than what they said in that article.
Anyway, I’d better pull myself together, the car is waiting, and I will still be late. And now I can’t blame it on the traffic…
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