How Will Autonomous Vehicles Impact the Public Transport Sector

With most big automakers competing to release their semi-autonomous systems as early as 2020, it’s safe to say fully autonomous vehicles are well on their way.

And there is no denying the fact they will profoundly change our lives.

Through advanced syncing and interconnected data, smart vehicles can interact with each other and the environment to create a transportation system which knows who each passenger is and where exactly they want to go.

So what does the deployment of driverless cars mean for the traditional mass-transit? The information provided in this article is intended to give an answer, so keep on reading.

Traffic Congestion Will Decrease

Traffic congestion is a significant problem affecting urban mass transit all over the world.

It’s crazy to think about how much time we actually spend in traffic every day, especially when facing a long commute and how much it affects our day-to-day life.

So I think you agree with me when I say the idea of living in a city where traffic flows mostly uninterrupted through the streets is highly appealing.

Autonomous vehicles may be the solution to significantly reduce traffic congestion and lead to higher efficiency by:

• using GPS technologies to efficiently route cars through traffic jams and offer alternative routes suggestions
• optimizing the movement of vehicles as they are on the road.

Keep in mind driverless cars are vehicles carrying vast amounts of data which lets them see and analyze the world around them in great detail. Furthermore, the collected data can be analyzed to:

• improve traffic conditions
• optimize the infrastructure for top efficiency
• improved transport planning ( for instance, passengers may have the option to more efficiently evaluate their travel options with extensive information on travel time, cost, environmental impact).

Carbon and Greenhouse Gases Emissions Will Be Reduced

According to the EPA cited here, motor vehicles collectively cause 75 % carbon monoxide pollution in the U.S, while the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) estimates on-road vehicles produce one-third of the air pollution that generates smog in the U.S.

Transportation is at fault for 27 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

Today’s vehicles are major contributors to air pollution throughout the world. They are bad for our health and for the environment.

The introduction of electric AV’s (autonomous vehicles) and means of mass transit like the fully autonomous shuttle bus in Paris which is 100% electric, hence cleaner, will lead to a greener city and less pollution.

Things will be better. How much better?

In the long run, autonomous vehicles can result in an overall reduction in net energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, by up to 9%, as highlighted in this report.

Autonomous Vehicles to Shape the Future of Public Transport

Private fleets of driverless cars, ride-sharing services and an increased appeal towards personal driverless cars, they all raise an essential question:

What will happen to public transit agencies and will autonomous vehicles make them irrelevant?

On the one hand, adopting autonomous technology for mass transport requires a massive investment.

However, in the probable scenario of people favoring driverless solutions over traditional public transport, this makeover would ensure public transit agencies won’t become obsolete.

And governments throughout the world seem willing to take steps in this direction.

Helsinki, Finland, is among the first cities in the world to introduce a driverless line bus which carries transit users between main transport stations and popular destinations.

See it hit the road in Helsinki in the video below:

For now, one of the officials’ primary goals was to study user behavior and see how willing people are to accept this type of bus and service. But they plan to make the entire city car-free within the next decade.

Finland is not the only one interested in shaping a new vision for the future when it comes to mass transport.

I’ve already mentioned the autonomous shuttle bus service in the French capital, but there are other cities in the world testing their own solutions towards smart transport:

• the first passengers already took a ride aboard the Autonomous Bus in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada
• self-driving buses have hit the road in China’s Shenzhen
• Japan is testing a robotic bus in a Japanese village
• London is testing out autonomous pods.

If more cities and public transit agencies are to follow in their footsteps and leverage autonomous technology, they will have to come up with solutions to fundamental challenges, such as:

• how will the driverless vehicles complement overall public transit services
• how to deliver the best user experience to eliminate or reduce possible user resistance to this new way of getting around
• figure out a new revenue collection model which involves fare payment being made electronically
• changing infrastructure. Smart cars need smarts cities, which translates into great investments to upgrade and improve road conditions as to accommodate the needs of autonomous cars.
• update legislation regarding driverless cars. Countries like U.S, Germany, Austria, France or Sweden have already started implementing laws and policies to address the reality of cars without a driver.

The Bottom Line

There is no denying autonomous vehicles will play a leading part in shaping the future of mobility.

Self-driving technology will impact cars and trucks, but also all types of road vehicles, including buses.

Some experts predict a complete adoption of fully autonomous cars which can safely perform full, end-to-end journeys by 2035. But don’t throw away your car keys or your old bus pass just yet.

To ensure a smooth transition to an autonomous future, a country’s government and public transit agencies will have to assume the main role in regulating data policies, rethinking infrastructure and revenue collection.

However, I’m optimistic all these issues can be addressed because, ultimately, the opportunity trumps the challenges.

The AV’s industry is one in which the pace of innovation is pretty mind-boggling. Things are always changing, making room for new exciting news and discoveries which come with life-altering implications.

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