Written evidence submitted by Dr Lamprini Papafoti (SDV0037)
Please find below evidence to your inquiry on self-driving vehicles. In 2021, I completed a PhD at the Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, entitled “Automated vehicles and future transport inequalities in the UK. Exploring the potential accessibility implications for older people”. My submission mainly addresses the following topic of interest to the Transport Committee, specifically from the perspective of older people:
- likely uses, including private cars, public transport and commercial vehicles;
My submission is based on my PhD thesis and, specifically, on the findings from twenty-four qualitative interviews with older people living and/or working in Greater Manchester.
The qualitative interviews were carried out in 2019 and they involved a diverse group of people aged between 55 and 86. They explored older adults’ perceptions of self-driving vehicles and their willingness to use different types of self-driving vehicles and services. The following scenarios of self-driving vehicles and services were presented to interviewees:
- Self-driving buses: These were described to interviewees as similar to conventional buses but without a human driver. The cost was presented to them as similar to that of current buses.
- Self-driving taxis: The scenario for this service referred to a self-driving taxi service that requires the use of smartphone applications. The description of the scenario mentioned that the cost would be similar to that of current taxi services.
- Self-driving shared taxi service: This service was described as a self-driving taxi service that can be booked with a smartphone application and involves the sharing of a ride with another person who travels between a similar origin and destination. The cost was described as cheaper than that of a taxi service.
- Self-driving neighbourhood car club: This scenario described shared cars that can be accessed from a parking spot within one’s neighbourhood and can be rented for a short period of time.
- Self-driving private cars: The price of private cars was described as similar to that of a “brand-new car”.
Some key findings from the interviews were:
- The self-driving bus and neighbourhood car club services appeared to be the most acceptable services for the participants in this study, as a higher proportion of interviewees stated that they might consider using these services comparing to the other options presented to them.
- However, the services/vehicles that were mainly associated with benefits for the mobility and accessibility of older people were the neighbourhood car club service and the private cars. These self-driving vehicles were anticipated to reduce mobility barriers of older people due to self-regulation of driving activity or driving cessation at older age (e.g. as a result of health issues) or poor-quality public transport services.
- Overall, participants did not think that self-driving taxi and bus services would affect the way they travel.
- The neighbourhood car club appears to rank as the best use-case option, if both the interviewees’ responses about their willingness to adopt the service and the anticipated benefits for mobility and accessibility of older people are taken into account.
- The shared taxi service was the least acceptable service in this study due to concerns about personal safety and inconvenience with sharing transport space with strangers.
Key issues that need to be considered in the development of self-driving vehicles and services for older people based on the findings from these interviews:
- Concerns about antisocial behaviour and other emergencies (e.g. health-related incidents) might discourage the adoption of self-driving buses, shared taxis and other similar services that involve the sharing of a ride with others (strangers). In this study, participants raised concerns about personal safety both in the context of self-driving buses and shared taxi scenarios. The perception of personal safety is an important factor that needs to be taken into consideration in the design of vehicles and services.
- Participants held different views on how the interaction with taxi drivers currently affects their journey experience and the likely impact of self-driving technology. Some participants thought that the interaction with a taxi driver can be burdensome, while a self-driving taxi could offer a more private transport space and, therefore, a more appealing service. In contrast, others appeared to value the social interaction with taxi drivers. Some participants’ narratives also suggest that substituting human-assisted taxis with self-driving taxi services could also pose barriers to disabled people who currently use taxis to get assistance for certain travel purposes (e.g. shopping).
- Some female participants also mentioned benefits from sharing a ride with friends and family members (particularly in relation to the neighbourhood car club). They mentioned that sharing a ride with others from their social network would improve their confidence to use the service and their perception of safety.
- Although some of the participants showed strong interest in buying a self-driving car if the technology becomes available, concerns about the affordability of these in the future were also raised. This suggests that if self-driving technologies were primarily applied in private cars, it could lead to widened inequalities in adoption, private car use and mobility levels within this age group. Furthermore, when participants compared the options of self-driving private cars and taxis/neighbourhood car clubs, they noted that their choices would depend on the relative cost of these and their out-of-home mobility needs (e.g. the frequency and distances of their journeys).
- Some interviewees expressed concerns about the reliability and on-demand capability of the neigbourhood car club service that was presented to them. Adequate vehicle supply and service reliability will be critical factors to ensure adoption of shared mobility services by older people.
Finally, the interviews revealed further concerns of older people about the self-driving technology regardless of the service or use case:
- Although participants thought that self-driving vehicles could enable the travel of older people with physical disabilities, it was argued that the technology might not be able to cater for all the types of journeys and people with severe mobility and cognitive impairments who may still require some human assistance to complete their journeys.
- Concerns about the safety of self-driving vehicles were raised by interviewees. Many participants questioned the extent to which self-driving vehicles would be able to cope with complex driving tasks, such as driving in congested city centres or searching for a parking space. Lack of reliability in specific environments (for example, in foggy weather conditions) and failures of the technology were other common concerns.
- A few participants noted that some segments of the current generation of older people may lack the confidence or experience with digital technologies to learn how to use self-driving vehicles.
August 2022