Research commissioned by: International Transport Forum
Why did we select this research?
This report explores the potential outcomes of the eventual use of self-driving cars shared by potential users, which would represent a radical change in the current mobility system at urban level.
Key findings
A TaxiBot system (self-driving cars that can be shared simultaneously by several passengers ) with high-capacity public transport will result in 6% more car-kilometres travelled than today, because these services would have to replace not only those provided by private cars and traditional taxis but also all those provided by buses.
A TaxiBot system with high-capacity public transport will result in 6% more car-kilometres travelled than today, because these services would have to replace not only those provided by private cars and traditional taxis but also all those provided by bus.
In all cases examined, self-driving fleets completely remove the need for on-street parking. This is a significant amount of space, equivalent to 210 football fields or nearly 20% of the kerb-to-kerb street space in our model city. Additionally, up to 80% of off-street parking could be removed, generating new opportunities for alternative uses of this valuable space.
Policy perspective
For small and medium-sized cities it is conceivable that a shared fleet of self-driving vehicles could completely obviate the need for traditional public transport. Shared self-driving car fleets will directly compete with urban taxi and public transport services, as currently organised. Such fleets might effectively become a new form of low capacity, high quality public transport. This is likely to cause significant labor issues.
In all fleet-mixing scenarios, overall vehicle travel will be higher. Also, vehicle numbers will increase in three out of four peak hour scenarios. Nonetheless, even in mixed scenarios, shared self-driving fleets could be a cost-effective alternative to traditional forms of public transport, if the impacts of additional travel are mitigated.
Reference
Retrieved from: https://www.itf-oecd.org/node/14579
