Policy and society related implications of automated driving: A review of literature and directions for future research

In this paper, the potential effects of automated driving that are relevant to policy and society are explored, findings discussed in literature about those effects are reviewed and areas for future research are identified. The structure of our review is based on the ripple effect concept, which represents the implications of automated vehicles at three different stages: first-order (traffic, travel cost, and travel choices), second-order (vehicle ownership and sharing, location choices and land use, and transport infrastructure), and third-order (energy consumption, air pollution, safety, social equity, economy, and public health). Our review shows that first-order impacts on road capacity, fuel efficiency, emissions, and accidents risk are expected to be beneficial. The magnitude of these benefits will likely increase with the level of automation and cooperation and with the penetration rate of these systems. The synergistic effects between vehicle automation, sharing, and electrification can multiply these benefits. However, studies confirm that automated vehicles can induce additional travel demand because of more and longer vehicle trips. Potential land use changes have not been included in these estimations about excessive travel demand. Other third-order benefits on safety, economy, public health and social equity still remain unclear. Therefore, the balance between the short-term benefits and long-term impacts of vehicle automation remains an open question.

Keywords: automated driving; first, second, and third order impacts; policy and societal implications; ripple effect
 
Milakis, D. van Arem, B., van Wee, B., 2017. Policy and society related implications of automated driving: a review of literature a directions for future research. Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems: Technology, Planning and Operations 21(4): 324-348. 

Free online access to this article is available from here

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome to my blog!

Conventionally, travel behaviour theory considers travel as a derived demand. This means that travel occurs just because we want to reach a destination and participate in an activity there. In other words, it is the final goal and the benefits to be got from it, that motivates us to make the trip. But is this always true ? I am pretty sure that the first who would disagree with this theory, which has significantly defined the development path of contemporary cities, would be Constantine P. Cavafy with his most known poem “ Ithaka ”: "As you set out for Ithaka hope the voyage is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery ... Arriving there is what you are destined for. But do not hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts for years, so you are old by the time you reach the island, wealthy with all you have gained on the way, not expecting Ithaka to make you rich ".   In my case, I would probably agree more with Cavafy, than the rigorous theory of the scientific
Read more

My 'alternative urban and transportation' songs collection

Music often accompanies our thoughts and writings. Sometimes it enhances concentration, while other times just helps in relaxing the mind. I have gathered below some of the songs related to my research, which I often listen in my office. I call it my "alternative urban and transportation songs collection". I have included some the songs for their interesting lyrics, while others for the excellent music or their nice video-clips. Have fun...  (click for YouTube view) Duke Ellington | Take the A Train | 1939 (music) – 1944 (lyrics) James Brown | The night train | 1952 John Coltrane | Blue train | 1957 The Who | Magicbus | 1968 The Doors | Love street | 1968 Yves Montand | La Bicyclette | 1968 Joni Mitchell | Big Yellow Taxi | 1970 Queen | Bicycle race | 1978 Rush | Subdivisions | 1982 Kraftwerk | Tour de France | 1983 U2 | Where the streets have no name | 1987 Cat Stevens | Where Do the Chi
Read more

Stay local or go regional? Urban form effects on vehicle use at different spatial scales: A theoretical concept and its application to the San Francisco Bay Area

Image
Abstract: This paper explores the respective roles of local and regional characteristics of urban form on vehicle travel. We hypothesize that the effects of urban form on vehicle use at the local and regional levels are complementary, and we introduce the concept of local and regional action spaces, which are defined based on the accessibility of alternative means of transport within an acceptable travel time, to test this hypothesis. Multilevel and ordered logit models are developed for the San Francisco Bay Area to estimate the effects of urban form and socioeconomic characteristics on vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT) and vehicle trip frequency (for work, shopping, and social/recreational purposes). We find that the two urban scale characteristics exert complementary effects on VKT. However, because people in the San Francisco Bay Area display significantly lower VKT in the local than in the regional action space, we conclude that regional-scale inter-ventions woul
Read more