Josephine Knutsen

5/5 (1)

Autonomous Vehicles is probably the most exciting technological advancement for people working in the mobility industry. Experts predict that our current mobility habits will change radically with the uptake of autonomous vehicles (AVs) (Shaver, 2019). Whether it be autonomous busses, autonomous taxies, or autonomous personal vehicles. Pilots are run all over the world, however, the scope is still quite small. It was long assumed that AVs would be on the market by 2030, but as the year is approaching without major technological improvements, experts are starting to agree that it will take another 20-30 years before these vehicles become the main mean of transport (Dormehl & Edelstein, 2019). Companies such as Google and Uber have been testing self-driving cars for almost a decade, but the codes are still bugging (Dormehl & Edelstein, 2019). Furthermore, a new issue has emerged. In 2016, one of Uber’s AVs killed a woman who was jaywalking (Columbia, 2020). In this particular case, the National Transpiration Safety Board (NTSB) decided to split the blame among Uber, the company’s autonomous vehicle (AV), the safety driver in the vehicle, the victim, and the state of Arizona (Columbia, 2020). However, this incident highlighted the urgency of the problem and put the libability issue on the agenda. Car manufacturers are not yet ready for taking the liability for such accidents, and the most advanced AVs on the market are still arequired to be driven with a driver/ supervisor who is responsible for taking over control of the vehicle should anything go wrong. Currently, it is the driver of the vehicle who is liable should there be an accident. However, once we move into level 5 autonomy (see illustration bellow), the legal issue has to be solved, and laws and regulations established. The problem is that such accidents typically are very complex and in certain situations, the AV might have to choose between killing its passengers or the pedestrians which poses another issue (Columbia, 2020).

Personally, I believe we will have to create new infrastructure where cars can move without interactions, kind of like a subway system before AVs can run freely on the roads.

Source: Synopsys (n.d.)

Sources:

Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science. (2020, January 14). Who’s liable? The AV or the human driver?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 20, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200114163142.htm

Dormehl, L., & Edelstein, S. (2019, February 3). Sit back, relax, and enjoy a ride through the history of self-driving cars. Retrieved from Digital Trends: https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/history-of-self-driving-cars-milestones/

Shaver, K. (2019, July 20). City planners eye self-driving vehicles to correct mistakes of the 20th-century auto. Retrieved from The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2019/07/20/city-planners-eye-self-driving-vehicles-correct-mistakes-th-century-auto/

Synopsys (n.d.). The 6 Levels of Vehicle Autonomy Explained. Retrieved from Synopsys: https://www.synopsys.com/automotive/autonomous-driving-levels.html

5/5 (2)

With the corona-virus outbreak, the amount of people taking public transport has dropped dramatically. One would think, that with a decline in public transport, the use of shared mobility such as bikes, e-scooters or taxi would increase since the traveler is less exposed to other people. However, companies providing such solutions have faced difficulties complying with rules and regulations imposed by governments. As an example, local governments in the UK are advising taxi-companies to clean all door handles and seat-belt clips with disinfecting spray after every trip.

Then, one can only imagine how Covid-19 has affected the shared-mobility industry. There is no way shared mobility operators can drive around and make sure the handles of scooters and bikes, and steering wheels of cars are disinfected after every ride. Station-based vehicles could offer self-cleaning hubs (like they do in supermarkets). Dockless vehicles, on the other hand, that are not returned to specific locations, would not be able to offer such solutions.

Thus, mobility providers have been forced to rethink their strategies and way of operation. For some companies, like the electric-bike style e-scooter company, Wheeles, the virus forced them to stop operations. To go back into business, they had to look at alternative solutions and scan the market for options. At the end of March this year, they announced that they partnered up with the company NanoSeptic who has developed a self-cleaning surface. Thus, the bikes of Wheeles have now been redesigned with a self-cleaning handle and break, making the vehicles less prone to spread corona amongst its users. Voi, a more established operator in the European market, has also jumped on the technology and claim they are able to “kill 99.98% of coronavirus on contact”.

If this technology works as it claims, it should not only be used to make shared mobility safer, but maybe the technology can also be used in other places such as public doorknobs, or on elevator buttons?

References:

CBS (n.d.). Retrieved 13.09.2020 form https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/dossier/coronavirus-crisis-cbs-figures/covid-19-impact-on-public-mobility

Preston city council (n.d.). Retrieved 13.09.2020 from https://www.preston.gov.uk/article/2481/Covid-19-Basic-guide-for-Taxi-drivers-and-operators

Toll, M. (27.03.2020). Electrec. Retrieved 13.09.2020 from https://electrek.co/2020/03/27/a-coronavirus-first-check-out-this-e-bike-shares-self-cleaning-handlebars/

Young, G. (04.09.2020). Birmingham Live. Retrieved 13.09.2020 from https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/birminghams-e-scooter-revolution-when-18873821

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