Polis launches discussion paper on automated vehicles

The 15-page document was produced by Polis members within the Working Group on Traffic Efficiency & Mobility (TE&M WG) with the aim of bringing in the voice of cities and regions to AV developments which are characterised by a strong optimism bias and are weak on sustainable mobility policy.

In drafting this paper, Polis hopes that city and regional transport authorities around Europe will start engaging in AV policy developments at national and EU level and start thinking about what practical steps and policies they could adopt to ensure positive outcomes from AV deployment and minimise disbenefit.

Polis president Dr Jon Lamonte, Chief Executive at Transport for Greater Manchester, says:

"Policy makers at EU and national level are not giving enough attention to the potential impacts of AVs on sustainable mobility policy. Given the potential impact of self-driving cars in urban areas, local and regional authorities and public transport providers need to play a more prominent role in the development of policy around AVs."

Karen Vancluysen, Polis Secretary General, says:

"Headlines often fail to make the distinction between automating certain driving functions in specific environments (levels 1-4) and automating the full driving task in any environment (level 5). The latter level is the most talked about in the studies and the press, yet it is the one that is the most difficult to achieve, particularly in an urban environment." 

The Polis TE&M WG will be taking forward various topics highlighted in the paper.

Access the paper:

The paper can be downloaded here.

Contact:

Comments to and reactions on the paper can be sent to Suzanne Hoadley.