As interest in the technology rises, public autonomous vehicle (AV) testing are becoming more common in many European towns.
The general opinion is that economically feasible solutions are some time away, but city authorities are eager to examine how AVs may alleviate the demands of urbanization.
There are different approaches but a few main uses have already been considered – shuttles that can transport groups of people around; driverless delivery trucks that can run all day; and private vehicles that can take one or two passengers at a time for personal trips.
Inclusion of another mode of road transport in the cities, in addition to private automobiles, buses, vans and trucks, must be carefully examined. Traffic congestion already causes great problems, the most serious of which are air pollution and waste of time. As a result, most AV pilots tend to focus on bigger autonomous vehicles that can act as a bridge between traditional buses and taxis.