Susan Shaheen, the Transportation Sustainability Research Center’s co-director, discusses safety as a motivation for using robotaxis.
"Autonomous vehicles are designed to travel a little more cautiously and conservatively, which can make them less erratic than human-driven cars, said Susan Shaheen, a professor of civil and environmental...
Susan Shaheen, Adam Cohen, Jacquelyn Broader, Sarah Hoban, Ashley Auer, Gustave Cordahi, Shawn Kimmel
2022
NCHRP Research Report 1009: Shared Automated Vehicle Toolkit: Policies and Planning Considerations for Implementation establishes a framework that provides public agencies and other transportation stakeholders with tools and potential strategies that can be used to assess programs; plan infrastructure and services; and implement policies to address converging trends in mobility on demand (MOD), automated vehicles (AVs), and emerging modes of transportation. This report should be of immediate use to a variety of public and private stakeholders who are seeking to plan for and implement MOD...
Automated vehicles, if shared, have the potential to blur the lines between public and private transportation services. This chapter reviews possible future shared automated vehicle (SAV) business models and their potential impacts on travel behavior. By examining the impacts of non-automated shared mobility services like carsharing and ridesourcing, we foster a better understanding of how current shared mobility services affect user behavior. This serves as a starting point to explore the potential impact of SAV services. Several key studies covering the topic are discussed....
Automated vehicle technology offers many opportunities to improve the quality of public transport. This chapter reviews key understanding and takeaways from an international workshop that took place in July 2016 at the Automated Vehicle Symposium in San Francisco, California, which focused on the ongoing development of shared automated mobility services and public transit. During the two-day workshop, speakers from the public and private sectors, academia, and nongovernmental organizations presented key findings from their work. Discussion centered around the implications of the...
We review the history, current developments, projected future trends and environmental impacts of automated vehicles (AVs) and on-demand mobility, and explore potential synergies. Many automobile manufacturers and Google plan to release AVs between 2017 and 2020, with potential benefits including increased safety, more efficient road use, increased driver productivity and energy savings. Estimates of AV energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions range from an ~80 % or greater decrease to a threefold increase; however, we argue that net decreases are likely. On-demand mobility services...
Purpose of Review: The purpose of this review is to present findings from recent research on Shared automated vehicles (SAV) impacts on mobility and energy.
Recent Findings: While the literature on potential SAV impacts on travel behavior and the environment is still developing, researchers have suggested that SAVs could reduce transportation costs and incur minimal increases in total trip time due to efficient routing to support pooling. Researchers also speculate that SAVs would result in a 55% reduction in energy use and ~ 90% reduction in...
In an automated future, cities could change in three fundamental ways:
The density of urban centers is likely to increase, as shared automated vehicles impact reliance on private vehicle ownership and use. Even if privately owned, automated vehicles would no longer need to be parked in a city’s highest valued real estate. Instead, these vehicles could self-drive and park away from residential, employment, and other activity centers. As such, auto-oriented land uses, such as parking, gas stations, and auto dealerships, could be redeveloped into housing, offices, and other land uses...
This synthesis provides a summary and comparative analysis of actions states across the United States are taking inresponse to automated vehicles (AVs). The research focuses on state-level stakeholder forums (e.g., task forces, committees) and state-level strategic actions (e.g., studies, initiatives, programs) initiated by a state legislature, agovernor, or a state agency. The analysis found that AV stakeholder forums and strategic actions address a diverse set offocus areas, but they pay minimal attention to the implications of AVs on the environment, public health, social equity,...
Susan Shaheen, UC Berkeley Transportation Sustainability Research Center Co-Director discusses shared automated vehicles with Polictico.
“If you could get more people sharing a car, when you start to look at the vehicle miles traveled and the greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant impacts, they’re likely going to be lower,” said Susan Shaheen, a California Air Resources Board member and...
