1,721,022 research outputs found
Overall synthesis and conclusions
No full textThis chapter first systematically summarizes the most important findings and policy implications of each of the chapters included in this book volume. Next it synthesizes the overall findings and policy implications, and discusses future avenues for policy making and research. A first conclusion is that the chapters make clear that the ranges in policy relevant implications of AVs, within the scope of each chapter/topic, are still relatively broad. Secondly we conclude that research that is conceptually rich is more valuable for policy making. Thirdly we hypothesize that context matters for the uptake, impacts, and specific system design characteristics of real world AV implementation. Fourth we conclude that research on the global south has been limited so far. Fifth we argue that AVs, shared vehicles and electric vehicles (EVs) might stimulate each other in a positive way, in all directions. Finally we conclude that AVs will have wider societal implications, such as in the area of land use, accessibility, social exclusion, governmental expenditures, the labor market, and the environment. The more indirect the effects of AVs are, the more difficult they are to understand. For policy making a first conclusion is that the issues of ethics, cyber security and data protection deserve way more attention than they currently get. We also conclude that future motorway network extensions might not be no-regret anymore, because of possible congestion reductions due to AVs, but also because of decreasing marginal values of time. Finally we argue that countries that introduce AVs later than other countries can learn a lot from the real world experiences elsewhere.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Transport and Logistic
ICT for transport: Opportunities and threats
No full textInformation and Communication Technologies (ICT) are rapidly evolving and taking centre stage in everyday life in the 21st century alongside the increasing importance and value of information. This is particularly evident in the transport sector where ICT is greatly influencing our mobility and travel choices as well as travel experiences. With this background, this book provides evidence regarding the opportunities, threats, underlying principles and practical issues faced when deploying ICT for transport applications. By focusing on infrastructure, people and processes, the contributors to this book illustrate the challenges for academics, practitioners and policy makers alike through diverse case studies from across the world
Overall synthesis and conclusions
No full textThis chapter first systematically summarizes the most important findings and policy implications of each of the chapters included in this book volume. Next it synthesizes the overall findings and policy implications, and discusses future avenues for policy making and research. A first conclusion is that the chapters make clear that the ranges in policy relevant implications of AVs, within the scope of each chapter/topic, are still relatively broad. Secondly we conclude that research that is conceptually rich is more valuable for policy making. Thirdly we hypothesize that context matters for the uptake, impacts, and specific system design characteristics of real world AV implementation. Fourth we conclude that research on the global south has been limited so far. Fifth we argue that AVs, shared vehicles and electric vehicles (EVs) might stimulate each other in a positive way, in all directions. Finally we conclude that AVs will have wider societal implications, such as in the area of land use, accessibility, social exclusion, governmental expenditures, the labor market, and the environment. The more indirect the effects of AVs are, the more difficult they are to understand. For policy making a first conclusion is that the issues of ethics, cyber security and data protection deserve way more attention than they currently get. We also conclude that future motorway network extensions might not be no-regret anymore, because of possible congestion reductions due to AVs, but also because of decreasing marginal values of time. Finally we argue that countries that introduce AVs later than other countries can learn a lot from the real world experiences elsewhere
Policy implications of the potential carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) emission and energy impacts of highly automated vehicles
No full textThis chapter explores the extent to which the adoption of highly automated vehicles (AVs) will lead to carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reduction in the future. Additionally, policy implications are given. Based on existing literature, this chapter shows that the adoption of AVs will result in a modest improvement of CO2 emission per kilometer traveled compared to non-autonomous vehicles in the future. Combined with the expectations that AVs will lead to a modest to, even, high growth in vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT) compared to business as usual, the net energy and CO2 emission balance for AVs seems, at its best, to be neutral, but is probably negative. The potential accelerating role of AVs in relation to the uptake of electric vehicles might have the largest positive impacts on the CO2 emissions per kilometer driven, but this accelerating role of AV technology in relation to the uptake of electric vehicles is uncertain. For the time being the most useful policy implication to curb road transport CO2 emissions seems to be to continue with policies that promote the use of alternatives for fossil fuels, such as electricity.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Transport and Logistic
Chapter Ten - Governance cultures and sociotechnical imaginaries of self-driving vehicle technology: Comparative analysis of Finland, UK and Germany
No full textAs an emerging technology, the potential deployment of self-driving vehicles (SDVs) in cities is attributed with significant uncertainties and anticipated consequences requiring responsible governance of innovation processes. Despite a growing number of studies on policies and governance arrangements for managing the introduction of SDVs, there is a gap in understanding about country-specific governance strategies and approaches. This chapter addresses this gap by presenting a comparative analysis of SDV-related policy documents in Finland, UK, and Germany, three countries which are actively seeking to promote the introduction of SDVs and which have distinct administrative traditions. Our analytical framework is based on the set of premises about technology as a complex sociotechnical phenomenon, operationalized using governance cultures and sociotechnical imaginaries concepts. Our comparative policy document analysis focuses on the assumed roles for SDV technology, the identified domains and mechanisms of governance, and the assumed actors responsible for steering the development process. The results highlight similarities in pro-automation values across three different countries, while also uncovering important differences outside the domain of traditional transport policy instruments. In addition, the results identify different types of potential technological determinism, which could restrict opportunities for responsiveness and divergent visions of mobility futures in Europe. Concluding with a warning against further depolitization of technological development and a dominant focus on economic growth, we identify several necessary directions for further developing governance and experimentation processes
Policy Implications of Autonomous Vehicles
No full textAutonomous vehicles (AVs) constitute a contemporary key area of research and development as reflected by the significant funds currently invested globally. According to the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) International taxonomy, in the highest levels of vehicle automation, an automated driving system is expected to perform all dynamic tasks of driving in certain (SAE level 4) or in all conditions (SAE level 5) (SAE International, 2018). In the lower levels of vehicle automation, a human should be available to take control of the vehicle (SAE level 3) or to monitor the driving environment while one is assisted to perform the lateral or/and longitudinal motion control of the vehicle (SAE levels 1 and 2). Yet, even these standards are being revised and updated to reflect the continuous need for shared learning and adaptation based on AV trials, such as SAE-J3018™ which was originally established in 2015 and updated in late 2019 (SAE International, 2019).
Large automotive companies have been envisaging vehicle automation technology for passenger transport to be available shortly after 2020, although they have indeed revised their early optimistic predictions about having fully automated vehicles on public roads by 2020 (Walker, 2020) and are currently exploring viable business models. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic seem to have accelerated development and use of certain forms of vehicle automation for supporting front-line health care (e.g., by delivering medical supplies to hospitals or elderly groups) and controlling the spread of the corona virus (e.g., by disinfecting public spaces), while the discussion about a significant modal shift from airplanes (i.e., short to mid-range trips) to automated vehicles has recently intensified (Rice, 2020).
In this context, research focus has been, so far, predominantly on the development of the hardware (e.g., sensors) and software (e.g., path planning algorithms) technology associated with different levels of vehicle automation (Gandia et al., 2019), particularly since it has been established that the role of hardware has been declining in contrast to the role of software within the transport sector (Thomopoulos et al., 2015). Moreover, the perception that AVs will bring mainly a change to vehicle performance led researchers to explore primarily the short-term implications for traffic flow, road safety and fuel efficiency (Milakis et al., 2017). More recently, “softer” implications of AVs for travel behavior, accessibility, culture, digital divide, health, land use, and social equity have attracted the attention of the research community, acknowledging the possibility of longer term unanticipated (Mladenović, 2019) socio-technical changes because of this emerging mobility technology (Cohn et al., 2019; Curl and Fitt, 2019; Gelauff et al., 2019; Milakis, 2019; Milakis et al., 2018; Milakis and van Wee, 2019; Soteropoulos et al., 2019; Thomopoulos and Givoni, 2015; Whittle et al., 2019; Zhang and Guhathakurta, 2018). Several scholars argue for more active governance of smart mobility ensuring and enhancing public value (i.e., maximizing individual benefits such as access to opportunities, while ensuring inclusive distribution of such benefits and minimizing adverse impacts to the environment and public health) (Docherty et al., 2018; Lyons, 2018; Pangbourne et al., 2020). Research results in all fields indicate that both short- and long-term implications of AVs are expected to be significant, including possible adverse effects for social and environmental sustainability. Moreover, such implications could vary substantially among different countries because of differences in urban form and size of cities, transport networks, travel patterns, governance structures but also due to socio-demographic, cultural and climate factors (Rode et al., 2017).
Despite this rather clear indication and the associated high public interest, policy developments in terms of type, extent, combination and timing of policy responses in this field are still at an early stage (Cohen and Cavoli, 2019; Fraedrich et al., 2018; Milakis, 2019). This might reflect the adoption of a technology driven deployment path for AVs associated with deep uncertainty about possible implications, leaving no or limited space for policy intervention (Taeihagh and Lim, 2019) that could steer deployment of AVs toward desirable, acceptable and sustainable transition as highlighted by WISE-ACTa outputs. Consequently, planners tend to adopt a reactionary “watch and wait” approach regarding AVs integration that could risk social and environmental sustainability (Legacy et al., 2019). According to Stayton and Stilgoe (2020), even the widely used SAE International taxonomy of AV levels (SAE International, 2018) reflects a technologically-centered approach describing the extent that an autonomous driving system can replace a human task. These researchers suggest that for policymakers and the public the technical capabilities of automated vehicles are not so important themselves, as the policies needed so that such vehicles offer safer, more equitable and effective transport system.
This book volume systematically reviews policy relevant implications of AVs and the associated possible policy responses. It comprises 13 chapters discussing: (a) short-term implications of AVs for traffic flow (Chapter 1), human-automated bus systems interaction (Chapter 2), cyber-security and safety (Chapter 3), cyber-security certification and auditing (Chapter 4), non-commuting journeys (Chapter 5); (b) long-term implications of AVs for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and energy (Chapter 6), health and well-being (Chapter 7), data protection (Chapter 8), ethics (Chapter 9), governance (Chapter 10); (c) implications of AVs for the maritime industry (Chapter 11) and urban deliveries (Chapter 12), and (d) overall synthesis and conclusions (Chapter 13).
The book has been initiated within the Action CA16222 of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) entitled “Wider Impacts and Scenario Evaluation of Autonomous and Connected Transport” (WISE-ACTa). WISE-ACT has offered a unique platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration among multiple researchers from different countries with diverse backgrounds and expertise to explore relevant policy implications of AVs and identify required policy developments at global level.
In the following section, we present an overview of the 13 book chapters included in this book volume, starting with the short-term implications of AVs (Section 2.1), followed by the long-term implications of AVs (Section 2.2), the implications of AVs for the maritime and freight industry (Section 2.3) and the overall synthesis and conclusions (Section 2.4)
Evaluating Sustainability in Simulations of Automated and Connected Transport
No full textEarly studies projected potential societal, economic and environmental benefits by the widespread deployment of Autonomous and Connected Transport (ACT) promising a significant reduction of transport costs and improvement in road safety. An effective way of assessing ACT impact is via simulations, where results are largely affected by the scenarios defining the ACT development. However, modelled scenarios are very diverse due to the huge uncertainty in ACT development and deployment. This chapter aims to shed light on the different ACT simulation scenarios and sustainability aspects that should be considered while developing or reporting the simulation results. To this end, this chapter discusses the various simulation approaches, what the required (or the typically utilised) pipelines are, and how some components are more important or less important than in ‘classic’ modelling and simulation approaches. Special focus is dedicated to the uncertainty related to ACT operational parameters and how these will impact transport modelling. To address said uncertainty, an analysis of current approaches to scenario building is provided, as the chapter guides the reader through different methodologies and clusters them in relation to the desired indicators. Finally, the chapter identifies and proposes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are useful when applying simulation tools to assess ACT scenarios. These KPIs can be used for simulation scenario development to test particular sustainability aspects of ACT deployment and relevant policies.</p
Can Driverless Transport Be Sustainable? A Triple Bottom Line Problematisation
No full textConnected 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, cyber security 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.</p
Policy Implications of Autonomous Vehicles
No full textPolicy Implications of Autonomous Vehicles, Volume Five in the Advances in Transport Policy and Planning series systematically reviews policy relevant implications of AVs and the associated possible policy responses, and discusses future avenues for policy making and research. It comprises 13 chapters discussing: (a) short-term implications of AVs for traffic flow, human-automated bus systems interaction, cyber-security and safety, cybersecurity certification and auditing, non-commuting journeys; (b) long-term implications of AVs for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and energy, health and well-being, data protection, ethics, governance; (c) implications of AVs for the maritime industry and urban deliveries; and (d) overall synthesis and conclusions
ICT for transport: Opportunities and threats
Full text linkInformation and Communication Technologies (ICT) are rapidly evolving and taking centre stage in everyday life in the 21st century alongside the increasing importance and value of information. This is particularly evident in the transport sector where ICT is greatly influencing our mobility and travel choices as well as travel experiences. With this background, this book provides evidence regarding the opportunities, threats, underlying principles and practical issues faced when deploying ICT for transport applications. By focusing on infrastructure, people and processes, the contributors to this book illustrate the challenges for academics, practitioners and policy makers alike through diverse case studies from across the world. © Nikolas Thomopoulos, Moshe Givoni and Piet Rietveld 2015. All rights reserved
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