Developing Policy for Urban Autonomous Vehicles: Impact on Congestion

An important problem for surface transport is road traffic congestion, which is ubiquitous and difficult to mitigate. Accordingly, a question for policymakers is the possible impact on congestion of autonomous vehicles. It seems likely that the main impact of vehicle automation will not be seen until driverless vehicles are sufficiently safe for use amid general traffic on urban streets. Shared use driverless vehicles could reduce the cost of taxis and a wider range of public transport vehicles could be economic. Individually owned autonomous vehicles would have the ability to travel unoccupied and may need to be regulated where this might add to congestion. It is possible that autonomous vehicles could provide mobility services at lower cost and wider scope, such that private car use in urban areas could decline and congestion reduce. City authorities should be alert to these possibilities in developing transport policy.

[1]  C Johnson,et al.  Readiness of the road network for connected and autonomous vehicles , 2017 .

[2]  Bart van Arem,et al.  Policy and society related implications of automated driving: A review of literature and directions for future research , 2017, J. Intell. Transp. Syst..

[3]  Kara M. Kockelman,et al.  Operations of Shared Autonomous Vehicle Fleet for Austin, Texas, Market , 2015 .

[4]  Graham. Parkhurst,et al.  Understanding the socioeconomic adoption scenarios for autonomous vehicles: A literature review , 2016 .

[5]  Peter Jones,et al.  Social and behavioural questions associated with automated vehicles: scoping study: final report , 2017 .

[6]  Alireza Talebpour,et al.  Influence of connected and autonomous vehicles on traffic flow stability and throughput , 2016 .

[7]  David A. Hensher,et al.  Future bus transport contracts under a mobility as a service (MaaS) regime in the digital age: Are they likely to change? , 2017 .

[8]  Susan L Handy,et al.  Closing the Induced Vehicle Travel Gap Between Research and Practice , 2017 .

[9]  Brice G. Nichols,et al.  Using an Activity-Based Model to Explore Possible Impacts of Automated Vehicles , 2015 .

[10]  Kara M. Kockelman,et al.  The Travel and Environmental Implications of Shared Autonomous Vehicles, Using Agent-Based Model Scenarios , 2014 .

[11]  A. Schäfer,et al.  The future mobility of the world population , 2000 .

[12]  Roger D. Launius,et al.  Summer books , 2017, Nature.

[13]  M. Givoni,et al.  The autonomous car—a blessing or a curse for the future of low carbon mobility? An exploration of likely vs. desirable outcomes , 2015 .

[14]  Daniel J. Fagnant,et al.  Preparing a Nation for Autonomous Vehicles: Opportunities, Barriers and Policy Recommendations , 2015 .

[15]  I. Kougias,et al.  How Can Autonomous and Connected Vehicles, Electromobility, BRT, Hyperloop, Shared Use Mobility and Mobility-As-A-Service Shape Transport Futures for the Context of Smart Cities? , 2017 .

[16]  A. Schäfer.  REGULARITIES IN TRAVEL DEMAND: AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE , 2000 .

[17]  Nidhi Kalra,et al.  Autonomous Vehicle Technology: A Guide for Policymakers , 2014 .

[18]  J. Bates,et al.  Spaced Out: Perspectives on parking policy , 2012 .

[19]  Peter Jones,et al.  Social and behavioural questions associated with automated vehicles: a literature review , 2017 .

[20]  D. Metz.  Peak Car in the Big City: Reducing London's transport greenhouse gas emissions , 2015 .

[21]  P. Mokhtarian,et al.  TTB or not TTB, that is the question: a review and analysis of the empirical literature on travel time (and money) budgets , 2004 .

[22]  Moshe Givoni,et al.  Re-assessing the Results of the London Congestion Charging Scheme , 2012 .

[23]  Corey D. Harper,et al.  Estimating potential increases in travel with autonomous vehicles for the non-driving, elderly and people with travel-restrictive medical conditions , 2016 .

[24]  M. Sivak,et al.  Potential impact of self-driving vehicles on household vehicle demand and usage , 2015 .

[25]  E. Papa,et al.  Sustainable Accessibility and the Implementation of Automated Vehicles: Identifying Critical Decisions , 2018 .

[26]  Vicente Milanés Montero,et al.  Handling Cut-In Vehicles in Strings of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control Vehicles , 2016, J. Intell. Transp. Syst..

[27]  Emilio Frazzoli,et al.  On-demand high-capacity ride-sharing via dynamic trip-vehicle assignment , 2017, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[28]  D. Metz.  The Myth of Travel Time Saving , 2008 .