The simple math of owning a car vs. not owning one marks the paradigm shift in attitudes among generations. What was once not feasible – living without a car – has now become easy (at least in many cities across the US), thanks to location-based, on-demand transportation solutions such as Uber and Lyft. In a Business Insider article, Katherine Krug, summarizes her car-free life in San Francisco.

Since giving up my car (in Oct’ 2013) , I now spend an average of $572 per month on transportation, which comes to $11,352 per year in savings. On top of that, I get back my time, the most valuable thing of all. I save an average of 6.5 days per year — almost a full week! — to focus on the things I want to be doing, rather than serving my car.

What caught my attention is the last sentence – Katherine’s elation about not “serving” her car. If this is how the youngsters feel about automobiles there is no way anyone can make an argument for owning a car. Maybe we have turned a new page in America’s love affair with the automobiles (which, at times, seems untrue when you read about booming auto sales)?

In the backdrop of how not owning a car helped manage her mobility needs while also saving her a ton of cash, you would be astonished to see Sarah’s average monthly expenditures (and time associated)  when she owned the car (see table below). Read more here

Image via Business Insider

via Yahoo Tech

Image courtesy: Yahoo.com “Calling for an ride after midnight? We hope you saved up for it.”

The chart comes to us via Dan Tynan’s “12 Ways to Avoid Uber and Still Get Home Safely on New Year’s Eve“.  If you are one of them brave souls venturing out tonight in the West Coast cities of Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego or Seattle , I highly recommend checking out FlyWheel, who is offering a $10 flat fee rides from 8PM until 3AM. Dan Tynan has done a great job identifying the various alternatives for you to get around safely after a fun night out. One additional smartphone app that I’d like to recommend in addition to Dan’s collection is @RideScout. This mobile app will help you get from point A to point B faster and smarter. RideScout shows you real-time information about transportation options that are available right now around you, including transit, bus, bike, taxi, car share, rideshare, parking and walking directions – all in one view. Now, how cool is that!

I’d like to also use this as an opportunity to wish all my reader a SAFE & Happy New Year! Thank you for your continued support and I promise to keep you even more informed in 2015.

(Source: Autoblog)

In the event of a crash, vehicle sensors gather up information and connects an OnStar adviser to a vehicle. OnStar can then contact emergency services and provide information regarding the severity of the crash, with information about airbags deployed and type of impact. 

In the past, OnStar advisers would have to give emergency services a detailed description of the location of the accident.

Subscribers to the telematics system will benefit from new technology that will enable OnStar to electronically transmit precise longitude and longitude coordinates directly to the 911 center. Where available, the Automatic Location Identification (ALI) data display will show the authorities exactly where you’re located, with almost zero opportunity for error.

The presser had the following info: With this newest OnStar enhancement, 911 centers can automatically receive specific vehicle location information (longitude and latitude) in the 911 Automatic Location Identification (ALI) data display which may interface with a sophisticated mapping system used in many jurisdictions to expedite locating emergency victims. 

“In an emergency, accurate location is the most important piece of information to ensure that help arrives promptly at the scene,” said Cathy McCormick, Emergency and Security Service Line manager, OnStar.

In addition to providing location information, OnStar advisors continue to play an important role in providing critical crash and other emergency-related information directly to dispatchers to help them determine the most appropriate response. 

“The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials has worked with telematics providers since their inception to use the latest technology to assist public safety in saving lives,” said Chris Fischer, president, APCO International. “This technology interfaces with the systems many of our centers have in place already to expedite response.”

With OnStar’s Priority Access program, many PSAPs already receive OnStar emergency calls through an existing 911 trunk line. By routing verified emergency calls to 911 trunk lines, dispatchers will not only receive OnStar calls more quickly, they will also receive important call-related data, including OnStar’s PSAP-only callback number.