AV technology ‘could reduce congestion’, says Australian minister

Congestion costs would drop by more than a quarter if automated vehicles (AVs) account for 30% of kilometres travelled, says Alan Tudge, Australia’s minister for cites urban infrastructure and population. Speaking at the Australia-New Zealand Cities Symposium in Sydney, Tudge revealed findings from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics. “They estimate it would drop from $37 billion of avoidable congestion to $27 billion,” Tudge says. A 30km freeway journey in Melbourne has increas
February 26, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

Congestion costs would drop by more than a quarter if automated vehicles (AVs) account for 30% of kilometres travelled, says Alan Tudge, Australia’s minister for cites urban infrastructure and population.

Speaking at the Australia-New Zealand Cities Symposium in Sydney, Tudge revealed findings from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics.

“They estimate it would drop from $37 billion of avoidable congestion to $27 billion,” Tudge says. A 30km freeway journey in Melbourne has increased from 21 to 27 minutes in the last 10 years, while average morning peak-hour journeys in Sydney now take 65% longer than off-peak trips, he added.

He claimed that AVs will reduce congestion as the cars would be able to safely travel more closely together. He referred to data from autonomous mobility developer Zoox, which showed that today’s vehicles only occupy 8% of the freeway.

“If the vehicles were automated, then they could travel far more closely together,” Tudge went on. “If they occupied, for example, 16% of the space rather than 8%, you are effectively doubling the freeway capacity.”

However, many industry experts warn that AVs will not reduce congestion unless road users are prepared to share rides.

Tudge claimed that AVs could make ride-share more affordable, reliable and widespread, therefore taking other vehicles off the road: “Combining artificial intelligence with connectivity would also allow active management of transport networks in real-time through predictive modelling, enabling congestion to be addressed before it happens.”

Tudge acknowledges that uptake for AVs will be slow but predicted that the technology will “almost certainly” be a significant feature of large cities around the world within the next decade.

But he emphasised that governments must provide the right regulatory environment. Currently, the Australian government is working with regional authorities, the National Transport Commission and 7519 Austroads - the peak organisation of Australasian road transport and traffic agencies - and the Transport and Infrastructure Council to help deploy AVs in Australia.

Last October, the government pledged $10m to advance work to prepare Australia for AVs and other transport innovations which included the establishment of the Office of Future Transport Technology within the Infrastructure Department.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Beijing considers congestion charge
    December 3, 2015
    According to Chinese website Xinhua, Beijing is likely to trial a congestion charge in a bid to address its congestion and air quality. Close to 5.6 million vehicles vie for space on Beijing's roads and vehicle emissions account for 31 per cent of the city's smog sources, according to the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau.
    Read More
  • Cost Benefit: the economic case for cycling
    August 20, 2019
    Cycling is good for us for any number of reasons. David Crawford finds that it is now possible to access basic, low-cost data which will help make the economic case for improving infrastructure Cycling is enjoying a favourable press the world over as a ‘good thing’ in the economic, environmental and social spheres. A recent study on the Value of Cycling from the UK’s University of Birmingham, for example, shows that cycle-friendly urban settings can deliver annualised transport infrastructural support co
    Read More
  • Cohda trial proves C-ITS can work in tunnels
    August 29, 2019
    Connected cars require uninterrupted signals to ensure driving safety. Going underground creates problems – but a trial in Norway suggests that there might be light at the end of the tunnel… As connectivity becomes increasingly important for transportation – in particular for connected and autonomous vehicles (C/AVs) - the problem of ‘blackspots’ and dead zones where signals fail or drop out is a pressing one. But developments early this year suggest that advances in technology might be on the brink of d
    Read More
  • Technology and finance shapes up to make MaaS happen
    June 7, 2017
    The technology and finance aspects needed for Mobility as a Service (MaaS) to become widely adopted are taking shape as Geoff Hadwick and Colin Sowman hear. Sampo Hietanen, CEO of MaaS Global and ‘father’ of MaaS, started his address to ITS International’s recent MaaS Market conference in London by saying: “All of the problems that can be solved by a company or group of companies have already been solved, and now we are left with the big ones such as housing, transport and health. He called MaaS the “Netfli
    Read More

Highlighted Content