AVs will increase traffic in overcrowded downtown areas, says study

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) will reduce the number of cars and overall travel times in cities but potentially worsen conditions in downtown areas, says the World Economic Forum. The findings come from a study conducted alongside the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Called Reshaping Urban Mobility with Autonomous Vehicles: Lessons from the City of Boston, the partnership recommends city and state governments encourage higher sharing of AVs - and avoid significantly moving away from mass transit systems. A
July 10, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Autonomous vehicles (AVs) will reduce the number of cars and overall travel times in cities but potentially worsen conditions in downtown areas, says the World Economic Forum. The findings come from a study conducted alongside the 4055 Boston Consulting Group (BCG).


Called Reshaping Urban Mobility with Autonomous Vehicles: Lessons from the City of Boston, the partnership recommends city and state governments encourage higher sharing of AVs - and avoid significantly moving away from mass transit systems.

A traffic simulation model of the city found neighbourhoods outside of the downtown core would see an improvement in traffic and travel times. In addition, a shift to autonomous mobility would reduce the number of parking spaces required in Boston by 48%.

Meanwhile, an analysis predicts a move to mobility-on-demand in AVs (such as robo-shuttles) and current taxi and ride-sharing services – which currently make up 30% of all trips in the greater Boston area.

Nikolaus Lang, senior partner at BCG and co-author of the study, says travellers are likely to choose low-capacity autonomous taxis and shuttles for trips lower than four miles, rather than taking buses or trains.

"This, in turn, would increase the number of cars on the road and average travel time by 5.5% in Boston’s downtown neighbourhood," Lang adds.

Travel time could be improved by 15% through the introduction of occupancy-based pricing schemes to discourage riding alone, says the research.

Additionally, converting on-street parking to dedicated pick-up and drop-off areas, surface mass transit or driving lanes could decrease travel time by 10%. Similarly, designation of dedicated lanes for shared AVs has the potential to reduce travel time by 8%.

A full copy of the report is available %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external here false http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Reshaping_Urban_Mobility_with_Autonomous_Vehicles_2018.pdf false false%>.

UTC

Related Content

  • December 10, 2018
    Waymo trials commercial driverless taxi service in Phoenix, Arizona
    Waymo has launched a driverless taxi service in Phoenix, Arizona, where riders will be charged for the journeys they take. In a blog post, CEO John Krafcik says the commercial self-driving service – called Waymo One - is available to early riders who have already been using Waymo’s technology. The company hopes to make the service available to more members of the public as it adds more vehicles and drives in more places, he writes. “Self-driving technology is new to many, so we’re proceeding carefully wi
    Read More
  • April 23, 2019
    ADN says Bled will improve public transit efficiency
    ADN Mobile Solutions has developed Bled, a technical solution which – in conjunction with bespoke training and gamification tools – is designed to help bus drivers improve their driving efficiency. The goal is to reduce public transit emissions and provide cost savings, monitoring the way that vehicles are driven, and picking up on activities such as sharp braking or acceleration, giving personalised recommendations based on driving context. Electronic and mechanical data from buses is analysed and presente
    Read More
  • October 9, 2018
    Ride-hailing companies could face taxes in San Francisco
    Ride-hailing companies could be taxed for starting their journeys in San Francisco following a bill signed by California governor Jerry Brown. The bill - AB 1184 - calls for a 3.25% tax on net rider fares for single-party trips, or those provided by an autonomous vehicle, as well as a 3.25% tax on shared rides. Additionally, the city or county would be able to set a lower tax rate for net rider fares for those provided by a lower emission vehicle. A report by the San Francisco Chronicle says the
    Read More
  • April 2, 2019
    BART launches multi-modal trip planner app in San Francisco
    Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has launched a trip planner app in San Francisco to provide commuters with access to various transportation modes and information on service disruptions. The BART Trip Planner was developed in collaboration with HaCon – whose software processes transit data from more than 30 operators including buses, trains, ferries and cable cars. BART says the app takes walking, cycling and car routes and the state of traffic into account to give users a realistic comparison of their c
    Read More

Highlighted Content