Skip to content

Autonomous vehicle tests yet to revamp cities in Europe

Most pilots remain in the early stages, and cities are happy to see how they go before reshaping road networks. By Freddie Holmes

Public autonomous vehicle (AV) tests are taking place with greater frequency across many European cities as interest in the technology grows. The general consensus is that commercially viable solutions are some way off, but city authorities are keen to investigate how AVs could ease the pressures of urbanisation.

Special report: How are cities preparing for autonomous vehicles?

Approaches vary, but there are a handful of key applications being considered: shuttles that can ferry groups of people around; driverless delivery vehicles that can operate all day; and to a lesser extent, private pods that might carry one or two passengers at a time for personal trips.

For cities, the addition of yet another means of road transport alongside private vehicles, buses, vans and trucks must be carefully considered; traffic congestion already brings a raft of issues to the table, primarily air pollution and lost time. For this reason, most AV pilots tend to focus on larger automated vehicles that can serve as an intermediary between conventional buses and taxis. How are cities in Europe investigating the real-world benefits so far?

No change needed, in theory

Rather than

It’s time to log in (or subscribe).

Not a member? Subscribe now and let us help you understand the future of mobility.

Pro
£495/year
or £49.50/month
1 user
News
yes
Magazine
yes
Articles
yes
Special Reports
yes
Research
no
OEM Tracker
no
OEM Model Plans
no
OEM Production Data
no
OEM Sales Data
no
Pro+
£1,950/year
or £195/month
1 user
News
yes
Magazine
yes
Articles
yes
Special Reports
yes
Research
yes
OEM Tracker
yes
OEM Model Plans
yes
OEM Production Data
yes
OEM Sales Data
yes
Pro+ Team
£3,950/year
or £395/month
Up to 5 users
News
yes
Magazine
yes
Articles
yes
Special Reports
yes
Research
yes
OEM Tracker
yes
OEM Model Plans
yes
OEM Production Data
yes
OEM Sales Data
yes
Pro+ Enterprise
Unlimited
News
yes
Magazine
yes
Articles
yes
Special Reports
yes
Research
yes
OEM Tracker
yes
OEM Model Plans
yes
OEM Production Data
yes
OEM Sales Data
yes

Welcome back , to continue browsing the site, please click here