When you hear the term "passenger economy," you might have one of three associations: The passenger economy is dependent on autonomous transportation technologies like self-driving cars, but the term "passenger economy" is broad and somewhat intentionally vague. The passenger economy is a set of industries that commoditize mobility, generating new services to enhance--and monetize--the experience of being a passenger in a so-called "driverless future." As it becomes increasingly possible to personalize and automate transportation, passenger vehicles will become a site for commercial opportunity. Public transportation does just this: you pay to be transported from one place to the other. You purchase the ability to access trains and buses that are already operative.

Cars are going to undergo a lot of changes in the coming years. Thanks to ride sharing and the looming introduction of self-driving vehicles, the entire model of car ownership is being upended--and very soon may not look anything like it has for the past century. Drivers, for instance, may no longer be drivers, relying instead on hailing a driverless car on demand, and if they do decide to buy, they will likely share the vehicle--by renting it out to other people when it isn't in use. Auto makers, meanwhile, already are looking for ways to sustain their business as fewer people make a long-term commitment to a car. And startups will spring up to develop services that this new ownership model demands--perhaps even create whole new industries around self-driving cars and ride sharing.

Cars are going to undergo a lot of changes in the coming years. Thanks to ride sharing and the looming introduction of self-driving vehicles, the entire model of car ownership is being upended--and very soon may not look anything like it has for the past century. Drivers, for instance, may no longer be drivers, relying instead on hailing a driverless car on demand, and if they do decide to buy, they will likely share the vehicle--by renting it out to other people when it isn't in use. Auto makers, meanwhile, already are looking for ways to sustain their business as fewer people make a long-term commitment to a car. And startups will spring up to develop services that this new ownership model demands--perhaps even create whole new industries around self-driving cars and ride sharing.