Accessibility vs Mobility

 “People don’t want a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole.” - Theodore Levitt 

The statement above provides a succinct capture of the essence of what is now called the "Jobs to be Done Theory", people buy products to complete a job, and it's really the job that they want done. We're not here to pick at current business management theories and their inevitable loopholes and drawbacks, but for the moment let's simply stipulate that in general: 

• People more or less know what jobs they need to get done, and strive to get them done relatively effectively. There may be more than one acceptable way to get 1/8" holes. 
• People who sell products know this, but their job to be done is NOT the same as that of the end-consumer. Companies that sell drills and bits are quite interested in people who need to have holes, but from a quite specific viewpoint. 
• Individuals should be a bit careful about "wants" when dealing with salespeople. Generally, you can assume that a barber will have selfish incentives if you ask them whether you need a haircut.

So, when it comes to buying cars, you know you want one, and you want to drive it, right? Take a look a few slogan examples from the car industry, and you'll see exactly what I mean. https://brandongaille.com/list-226-popular-automobile-slogans-and-catchy-taglines/

 

Your local DoT is probably quite aligned with this thinking too. After all, if they're the Department of Transportation, often what used to be Department of Highways, it's a pretty fair bet that their viewpoint is pretty well aligned with cars, roads, and mobility. So, if your city asks the state department, whose budget is a function of the roads they build and manage, if you need another road through your town, what answer will you get? Do you need a haircut?
 

You've got the point. But what is the point of this point? Let's take the thinking up a level or two, asking "Why?" a couple of times, and see where this "jobs to be done" paradigm might take us.

Why do you need a car? To drive, of course!
Why do you need to drive? To go places of course!
Why do you need to go places? Lots of reasons! I need food, and medicine, and shopping. The kids need to get to school, and to their events. We like to eat out or see a play on occasion. And to visit friends. And maybe a vacation. Maybe a Sunday drive. Oh, and work! Can't forget about going to work every day!

Ahh, is that really our job to done -- to get to places we need to go? A good fraction of those taglines didn't really talk about getting places, but about deserving the luxury or enjoying the drive. Maybe there are actually more jobs to be done? To buy expensive things to feel good about ourselves? To drive around and simply enjoy the trip?

Certainly those last points are sometimes true, but does it make sense to have a precious, expensive belonging that depreciates in value while you use it up doing mundane things? Do people really enjoy driving in tightly engineered multi-lane highways over-filled with irritated drivers?

Let's accept that there is perhaps a job to be done for a "fun car driven primarily for enjoyment", while noting that such drives didn't rank very high in our mental lists of things to do with a car. Perhaps this is a seductive justification instead of a compelling reason to have a car? 

Now go back and look at that list of car slogans. See anything odd? Where is "going to buy groceries" reflected in the list? Or how about efficiently commuting to work? Is it possible that the car industry has a different "job" in mind than you do? Perhaps the Department of Transportation does as well?

Let's go back to our list of "jobs to be done", and consider what this really tells us. For each of these places to go, we may reasonably have a further list of expectations, for safety, pleasantness, efficiency, time invested, and maybe some overall view of value. But let's ask "why?" one more time - Why DO we want to go all those places? To have a rich and meaningful life. We want to interact with those we like flexibly and with serendipity, do stuff with our family interactively, meet our obligations effectively, and complete our chores efficiently.

But wait, what if friends and family come to visit you? Does that not provide the same value as you going there? What if you can work from home, instead of commuting? What if the doctor makes house calls? What if dairy can be delivered every Tues and Friday morning? Sure, as humans we are "go place and do things together" social creatures, but is it really the "going" as much as the "doing together" that is of value?


Now that I've led the witness, I'll bring it home and suggest that driving - auto mobility -- is perhaps not the fundamental job we must complete. Mobility -- the ability to move -- is part of the answer, but not the key. What we actually need is Accessibility -- the ability to effectively access the people, experiences, and places that we desire in order to have a rich life.

Is car ownership, or maybe per-capita vehicle miles traveled (VMT) a good proxy metric for richness of life? Or are these vanity metrics for suburban, city, and state traffic success theater?

Why do we think that the Dept of Transportation has the right answers to building our neighborhoods, if Accessibility is the actual job we wish to conquer?

Maybe I just thought I wanted a drill and bit, and only thought I needed a 1/8" hole, when what I actually want is to have a picture of my family on the wall in front of me when I sit at my desk, and I've pigeon-holed a specific solution, yet successfully rationalized getting a new rechargeable drill driver for my stash while doing so.