Session 2
Room: Regent
Session Title: Autonomous Vehicles: the questions we are not asking and should be
Format: Presentation
Presenter Name: Vincent Ng, Movement & Place Consulting
Presenter best contact email: Vincent.ng1@unimelb.edu.au
Notetaker: Vincent Ng
Summary:
Today, many transport futurists would argue that we are at the cusp of a transport revolution that offers the greatest step change since mass adoption of the automobile some 70 years prior. The major benefits of AVs include safety, consumer convenience & comfort, and environmental benefits, yet these also come with significant risks. For policy makers, the need to ensure equitable access, limiting urban sprawl, integrating with existing public transport, monitoring the over commodification of transport, preparing for job displacement & environmental externalities, and finally ensuring privacy & network security present the biggest risks.
The advent of AVs will likely be realised as a global phenomenon sooner than many people predict. Globalisation is a powerful enabler. It encourages the most audacious engineers who are tackling the complexity of AV technology to share developments and planners across global city governance networks not only to interrogate the implications for public policy but also share best practices in early trials. Given the emerging trends in the future of mobility, it behooves policy makers and planners to stay one step ahead of not only the rapid pace of development, but also to be an integral part of bridging difficult conversations across both private and public, local and global stakeholders.