Nikolas Thomopoulos, Maria Attard, Yoram Shiftan and Lena Zeisel
The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) has reinvigorated the policy focus on sustainable transport. Automated and Connected Transport (ACT) has…
Abstract
The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) has reinvigorated the policy focus on sustainable transport. Automated and Connected Transport (ACT) has been featured as a promising technology-based option to aid in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite progress in certain areas of sustainability, there are still a lot of SDGs where limited progress has been observed since the 2015 Paris Agreement, particularly regarding the social pillar of sustainability which is reflected from the user perspective. This chapter will set the scene for this edited volume first by contrasting ACT potential with the SDGs and then by highlighting the requirement to focus more on addressing user needs through ACT. Remarkably, scholars have been increasingly sceptical about the transition to fully automated and connected vehicles, thus it is pertinent to highlight relevant opportunities and risks. Chapter recommendations foster the promotion of a Quadruple Helix approach to operationalise the inclusion of social concerns (e.g. gender balance and equity) in Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP) across the world.
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Shelly Etzioni, Mor Collins, Eran Ben-Elia and Yoram Shiftan
Serious games (SGs) are virtual systems that allow the reconstruction of the laws governing the behavior of complex adaptive systems such as urban transportation and social…
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Serious games (SGs) are virtual systems that allow the reconstruction of the laws governing the behavior of complex adaptive systems such as urban transportation and social interaction. Unlike stated preference-based studies, improved visualization, feedback, and scores mediate players’ learning through experience. SG’s potential to understand users’ preferences regarding shared automated vehicles (SAVs) is developed. The investigation focused on three innovative, entirely automated commuting options: shared rides, shared cars, and automated transit. The research involved 10 participants actively involved in a competitive mode selection exercise, which emulated 50 workdays and was conducted in 10 separate sessions. The players aimed to maximize their overall score influenced by their mode choice, punctuality, and the other players’ choices. SG-obtained data was used to estimate a game-based discrete choice model. The sustainability policy implications of game-based methods on the future adoption of SAVs and impacts on other modes are further discussed.
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Maria Attard, Nikolas Thomopoulos and Yoram Shiftan
The urgency to act on sustainable transport reached new levels in July 2023 when the temperatures across the globe hit an all-time high, and the promises of Automated and…
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The urgency to act on sustainable transport reached new levels in July 2023 when the temperatures across the globe hit an all-time high, and the promises of Automated and Connected Transport (ACT) to support meeting both the Sustainable Development Goals and reduce the effects of the climate crisis are ever more required. This chapter concludes this volume which aims at the different contributions of ACT to sustainability. It brings together the main themes and perspectives, as well as the challenges highlighted in the previous chapters. The main issues revolve around the effectiveness of environmental sustainability goals for ACT, issues of equity and social sustainability, planning, regulation and enterprise. This work largely represents a collaboration from the Wider Impacts and Scenario Evaluation of Autonomous & Connected Transport (WISE-ACT) Action funded by the COST Programme between 2017 and 2022 which brought together around 200 experts from 42 countries to discuss issues related to Autonomous and Connected Transport implementation.
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Connected and autonomous mobility may be an imminent game-changing reality, still in its embryonic form, that is set to disrupt a century-long ‘driver-centric’ status quo and…
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Connected and autonomous mobility may be an imminent game-changing reality, still in its embryonic form, that is set to disrupt a century-long ‘driver-centric’ status quo and recalibrate transport in unprecedented and possibly entirely unexpected ways. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) may have among others, a major impact on sustainability which in an era where concerns about the urgency and magnitude of climate change threats are voiced more and louder than ever before, needs to be a positive one for helping societies to enjoy liveable futures. This might not be an easy task to accomplish, however. This chapter, using a thematically organised narrative review approach, tries to give a well-rounded answer on whether driverless technology can yield sustainability benefits (or not) by looking at all three spheres of sustainability referring to environmental, economic and social implications. Agendas like motor traffic, air pollution, energy consumption, employment dynamics, inclusion, cybersecurity and privacy are all explored, and a conclusion is derived highlighting the need to package automation with connectivity, alternative fuelling and multimodality and building it around public transport (and to a lesser extent sharing service) provision. The road to make driverless transport genuinely sustainable is ‘bumpy’ and ‘uphill’ and requires the development of an appetite not for technology excellence per se, but rather for travel behaviour change. Achieving this needs serious strategic and coordinated multi-stakeholder efforts in terms of pro-active policy reform, user (and transport provider) education and training initiatives, infrastructure investment, business plan development, and living lab experimentation.
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Eda Beyazit, Emily Soh and Karel Martens
The massive investment in, and development of, automated and connected transport (ACT) technology development has triggered much debate about this breakthrough technology’s…
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The massive investment in, and development of, automated and connected transport (ACT) technology development has triggered much debate about this breakthrough technology’s potential positive and negative impacts. Multiple studies have explored the potential direct implications for users in terms of road safety, ‘productive’ travel time, mobility of the elderly and physically less mobile persons, as well as indirect impacts such as reduced emissions and freed road space. Through a critical review of the literature on ACT deployment types and discussions with an expert working group on the wider impacts of ACT implementation, this chapter examines four distinct deployment types of ACT technology and their opportunities and threats in transitioning toward inclusive transport systems. Of the four types, we posit that ACT-based public transport has the greatest potential to contribute to a more inclusive mobility future. Examining the case of Singapore using policy documents, academic literature and interviews with representatives of public and private sectors and academia, the chapter draws policy recommendations for governance toward more inclusive ACT innovation and deployment.