The Benefits of Automated Mobility: Why It’s Worth It
© beti/Alpcat Medias
Before we can deploy autonomous vehicles (AVs) on a large scale, there are still many key questions that need to be answered: How will the AVs be organised? What will the business model look like? Who will make the investments needed? How will we reskill the workforce?
Our sector has been at the forefront of automation before. Automated metro/rail has a long history – all the way back to 1967. And now, public transport will be at the forefront again.
Road AVs will come in all shapes and sizes and offer many services, from small on-demand shuttles in rural areas to large buses running automated BRT systems in dense urban cores. Indeed, AVs will look different in different places – just as public transport already does.
As we move from to development to deployment, let’s restate what makes automated mobility so game-changing for public transport services everywhere (and why those questions are worth answering).
- Expanding Coverage, Service Reach & Frequency
- Addressing Labour Shortages & Operational Efficiency
- Enhancing Accessibility & Social Inclusion
- Supporting Sustainable Urban Mobility Goals
- Driving Innovation & New Business Models in Public Transport
Expanding Coverage, Service Reach & Frequency
Some areas are underserved by traditional public transport. It can be inevitable, either for logistical or economic reasons. That will change.
Where fixed-route buses are not viable, autonomous on-demand shuttles can operate in low-density areas, such as rural and peri-urban zones, feeding to local mobility hubs.
Where services are insufficient, AVs can boost service levels by increasing frequency and the hours of operation. For instance, by adding capacity to BRT systems or running night services, which will have a particularly positive impact on shift/night workers who typically struggle to access public transport. This use case was a central plank of Seoul’s night-time autonomous bus trials – the world’s first.
In short, more public transport serving more places for more hours.
Addressing Labour Shortages & Operational Efficiency
Drivers are the hardest role to fill, according to operators. This is a familiar story for many. Across the EU, some 40% of the public transport workforce is expected to retire within the next decade.
Enter autonomous vehicles. AVs will allow operators to maintain or even expand service levels despite this constraint. At the same time, new types of jobs will emerge: deployment, remote supervision, fleet management, system maintenance, and more.
What’s more, behind-the-scenes automation promises significant cost savings. Automated depots enable drivers to spend less time moving vehicles from maintenance to fuelling or cleaning and more time where it matters – driving passengers.
The move to automation will have a significant impact on our workforce. Given this, we must implement structured dialogue, training programmes, and transition frameworks for workers.
Enhancing Accessibility & Social Inclusion
More public transport means more accessible and inclusive cities. Designing new AV services from scratch is a great opportunity to serve vulnerable populations like children, the elderly, and persons with reduced mobility and/or disabilities.
From the very beginning, the needs of these groups should be considered through active involvement in service design and testing.
AV deployment must enhance, rather than replace, services designed for those with additional needs
Supporting Sustainable Urban Mobility Goals
The stronger we integrate between AVs and public transport, the better we will meet our sustainable urban mobility goals – here’s how it works:
- AVs offer more flexible types of services,
- Making public transport networks more adaptable,
- Reducing reliance on private cars,
- And leading a modal shift to sustainable mobility!
In short, lower emissions, reduced congestion, improved public health, and a better use of valuable public space.
Without integration into public transport networks, private AVs will simply replace private cars. And that’s not progress.
Driving Innovation & New Business Models in Public Transport
Like many times before, public transport is driving AV innovation – and that means it’s up to our sector to experiment with and implement new service types, delivery models, and data-driven planning strategies.
We innovate and collaborate to provide better service for passengers. And AVs will have a huge impact on that goal.
UITP’s Automated Mobility Working Group brings together public transport professionals from across sectors and around the globe. As we transition into new ways of working, it is collaboration through platforms like UITP that will help advance AVs and public transport.
Our latest Position, shaped by the insights of the Working Group’s members, sets out the benefits, challenges, and enablers of autonomous vehicles and automated mobility.