Abstract
Autonomous vehicles (AVs)—vehicles that operate without real-time human input—are a potentially disruptive technology. If widely adopted, there is the potential for significant impacts on the energy and environmental characteristics of the transportation sector. This paper provides an outline of key drivers likely to influence the magnitude and direction of these impacts. We identify three broad categories: vehicle characteristics, transportation network, and consumer choice. Optimistically, AVs could facilitate unprecedented levels of efficiency and radically reduce transportation sector energy and environmental impacts; on the other hand, consumer choices could result in a net increase in energy consumption and environmental impacts. As the technology matures and approaches market penetration, improved models of AV usage, especially consumer preferences, will facilitate the development of policies that promote reductions in energy consumption.
Elisabeth A Gilmore: Deceased
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Notes
- 1.
For simplicity, we define consumers as the people demanding transportation services such as passenger mobility and the movement of goods.
- 2.
In all cases, energy consumption will have an environmental impact. Currently this impact is through the release of emissions resulting in poor air quality and climate change, water consumption and altered quality, etc. Even in an “all renewable” or “low GHG emissions” future, energy consumption will require infrastructure investments. An “environmental impact” is implied where energy is mentioned in this chapter.
- 3.
Transportation service includes the movement of both passengers and freight.
- 4.
Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are defined here as vehicles that provide transportation services without the need for a human driver manually operating the vehicle in real time.
- 5.
Cascading effects are the subsequent vehicle responses to sudden braking and or accelerations in vehicles preceding them.
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Morrow, W.R. et al. (2014). Key Factors Influencing Autonomous Vehicles’ Energy and Environmental Outcome. In: Meyer, G., Beiker, S. (eds) Road Vehicle Automation. Lecture Notes in Mobility. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05990-7_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05990-7_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
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