Countryside selfdriving vehicles - possibilities and challenges
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB - RISE Mobilitet och System, Göteborg |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 1 559 000 |
| Project duration | January 2020 - March 2021 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | Strategic Innovation Program Drive Sweden |
| Call | Innovations for a digitalized and automated transport system for people and goods |
Important results from the project
How could autonomous vehicles be used for public transport in rural areas? Through interviews, workshops and a Request for information (a first step towards procurement), we have investigated the question based on four specific areas in Sweden - Lund, Gotland, Eskilstuna and Skellefteå - and four themes - needs, technology & infrastructure, societal gain as well as roles and responsibilities.
Expected long term effects
Needs: Autonomous vehicles would both provide more frequent trips and enable commuting by public transport from the cities to the new workplaces in the countryside. Technology & infrastructure: New types of vehicles and bus stops are in demand while no need for more digital infrastructure has been observed. Societal benefits: Investments pay off as the trunk lines become more attractive as they can take the direct route. Roller & responsibility: The driver´s tasks will require new solutions and the responsibility for replacement traffic needs to be solved when the technology fails.
Approach and implementation
We have derived a definition of rural areas based on the individual´s mobility possibilities, instead of demographic or geographical definitions - those who have 5 to 30 minutes of traveling to the nearest urban area of 3,000 inhabitants are in the countryside. A possible consequence is that the neighbour who takes the bus is in the countryside while a car owner further down the road can live in an urban area.