Skip to main content

‘Only 20% of people’ would put their child inside an AV, says Fujitsu

Only 20% of people would be prepared to put their child inside an autonomous vehicle (AV), according to research from Fujitsu. People are more anxious about adopting digital services in travel than they are in other areas of their lives, according to Russell Goodenough, the company’s managing director of business and transport. Just 40% of people would put their trust in an AV - and the transport sector is falling behind in the race to digitisation, the company says. Speaking at a media forum in Lo
July 24, 2018 Read time: 3 mins
Only 20% of people would be prepared to put their child inside an autonomous vehicle (AV), according to research from 5163 Fujitsu.


People are more anxious about adopting digital services in travel than they are in other areas of their lives, according to Russell Goodenough, the company’s managing director of business and transport.

Just 40% of people would put their trust in an AV - and the transport sector is falling behind in the race to digitisation, the company says.

Speaking at a media forum in London, UK, Goodenough said there is a positive correlation between satisfaction of digital services and adoption rates within the financial services and retail sectors.

“The people working in our businesses aren’t immediately reaching to the same sorts of digital tools that people in other industries do,” he explained.

However, he believes the transport sector could learn from those industries and deliver digitisation less riskily – but he acknowledges there are challenges posed by rapidly-changing business models. “We are deeply exposed to disruption and new entrants coming into the market and taking existing revenue streams.”

The Fujitsu forum included speakers from 1466 Transport for London (TfL), Heathrow Airport and Hack Partners, who revealed how digital co-creation is helping them solve issues and shape journeys of the future.

Simon Reed, head of technology and data for surface transport at TfL, says the company is facing challenges through operating without government subsidies and dealing with passenger expectations to have real-time information.

“There’s a natural expectation that we are going to provide a more seamless service and that’s why we are looking at digital and co-operative ways of doing things.”

David Elliot, IT programme lead for airport operational systems at Heathrow airport, says the organisation does not move quickly and recognises the “sheer level” of collaboration necessary to turn data into information as a key challenge.

River Tamoor Baig, founder of Hack Partners, explains how the company’s hackathon events bring innovators outside of the transport sector to solve try and solve these problems. The team is presented with challenges and data sets and has 48 hours to come up with a solution to be presented to the industry.

Reed says TfL worked with insurance professionals and lawyers in a similar way to address issues surrounding where in London AVs could run and what this means for the insurance industry.

Tamoor Baig says a good first step is to open up data and make it more accessible.

“But a second step may be, your data being utilised by someone else in your ecosystem to add value back to your customers and their own customers,” he adds.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ‘Just 6%’ of transport companies can tackle cyberattacks, says Irdeto
    June 21, 2019
    Transport companies are under concerted attack from hackers, according to security specialist Irdeto – and most don’t know how to respond. New research from the group says that 77% of organisations in transport and automotive have experienced an Internet of Things (IoT)-focused cyberattack in the past year – but only 6% “have what they need to combat cyberattacks”. The survey of 225 companies in China, Germany, Japan, UK and US found that the incursions had an impact on 91% of those which experience
  • Bus Services Bill ‘to give greater accountability for customers’
    May 19, 2016
    According to Nathan Marsh, Smart Transport director at EY, a new Bus Services Bill included today’s Queen’s Speech could herald just the beginning of a journey to smarter travel and paves the way for cities and regions to reap the benefits of a London-style network. The speech also included a range of measures to modernise the UK’s economy, such as a Modern Transport Bill which included legislation to enable the development of commercial spaceports and new laws to make the UK ready to pioneer driverless
  • Joanna M. Pinkerton: “Mobility should be ubiquitous for people"
    January 3, 2024
    A chance meeting with a US Air Force recruiter may have changed Joanna M. Pinkerton's life: the boss of Central Ohio Transit Authority tells Adam Hill about this and explains why an outcomes-based approach to transportation is so important
  • Are Detroit OEMs heading towards extinction if Apple acquires Tesla?
    February 20, 2014
    Analyst comment from Frost & Sullivan indicates that the business consulting firm believes that Detroit OEMs are in trouble if Apple acquires Tesla and thinks that the rumours surrounding this potential acquisition have some fire behind them. According to automotive and transportation team leader Paraná Tharthiharan: "Apple has an arm that researches automated driving technology and Tesla is also interested in automated driving. Hence, the speculations carry more weight than mere rumours, as if about cel