The future of car and lift sharing

Our second session explored the potential for technology to reduce the number of journeys made by single-occupant cars.

Graeme Banister, Sector Director at Mobilityways, pointed out how much further ahead some countries, such as France, are on lift sharing/carpooling. He contended that there should be a strong focus on vehicle occupancy rates from policymakers. He also showed what an opportunity large employment sites such as Heathrow Airport can be. He shared their work in the Thoughtful Driving partnership with Esso, where information on sustainable choices was shared at fuel pumps and various other channels.

Matthew Shelton, Future Transport Services & Technologies Lead at Transport for West Midlands, shared his work on Midlands Future Mobility, testing AVs in real life road environments and trialling autonomous shuttles at major transport hubs. He also discussed the need to work with the public to understand the potential impact of AVs, particularly on disabled people and those on low incomes.

Nicola Hare, Project and Engagement Manager at PAVE Europe, discussed the need to focus not just on AVs in isolation but on making them a beneficial part of the wider mobility system. If they are not integrated into shared transport and planned with a range of regions considered, including rural areas, there is a risk of reinforcing existing challenges in the transport system.

Richard Dilks, CEO of CoMoUK, concluded by discussing the need to consider the social and environmental impacts of AVs alongside the economic. There is potential for them to play a role in mobility hubs, linking other sustainable travel options to AVs, but careful consideration will need to be given to AVs’ impact on congestion and parking, especially given currently AVs in the US spend around 40% of their time empty.

The session made clear the importance of policy and planning around new technology to ensure that it is of social and environmental benefit, with a particular view to the impact on disadvantaged groups. With the UK’s average car occupancy at 1.5 people per car, we must keep finding ways to reduce the road space taken up by low-occupancy vehicles.