Will AV ride-sharing make cities greener, more efficient and more accessible?

The MERGE Greenwich consortium is proud to share the findings from the 12-month project which investigated autonomous vehicle ride-sharing services. This report explores the impact of this potential new mode of transport when designed in different ways.

This report answers fundamental questions such as:
Will more people switch to autonomous vehicle ride-sharing services from existing public transport or private cars?
Will this new service reduce journey times?
Can autonomous vehicle ride-sharing address mobility gaps in our cities?
What kinds of services will be required?
Who is the target audience for such a service?
Will it be commercially viable?
What needs to happen next for this vision to become a reality?

A detail list of recommendations are included which aim to suggest how Mobility Service Providers, Vehicle Manufacturers, Local and National Government could start to plan for the introduction of autonomous vehicle ride-sharing services now. In particular, the MERGE Greenwich consortium is calling for a City Mobility Taskforce to be established, which involves leaders from government and industry. This Taskforce could set out a vision and roadmap for implementing new services and technology which directly address the issues faced by cities and citizens in the UK and around the world.

Cutting edge tools, assets and knowledge have been developed during this project, which other organisations are encouraged to leverage as much as possible.
These include:
Agent-based transport demand model which includes the new mode of autonomous vehicle ride sharing.
Sophisticated fleet simulation of an autonomous vehicle ride-sharing service.
Customer research.
City compatibility research which identifies Mobility gaps and how AV ride-sharing could address them.
An assessment of how this new technology could be implemented.
Vehicle requirements for an autonomous vehicle ride-sharing fleet.
Business model to assess the commercial viability of such a service.