The state of the art: a planning perspective

Driverless or autonomous vehicles (AVs) are at the centre of the coming mobility revolution, which will transform the cityscape and life within it. Seeing the enormous benefits that could be gained and that the technology would be the driver to spur development, businesses and governments are investing huge sums in the race to become technology leaders. These are breeding rapid developments of AVs, driving innovation in mobility provision and leading a paradigm shift in mobility provision, with profound and wide-ranging impacts. This chapter is intended to provide a starting point for a line of inquiry through a review of the three most directly relevant and interconnected elements in future mobility, namely the vehicles (CAVs), the services (MaaS) and their impacts on urban and transport planning and design. Discussions about various other issues related to the future can be found separately in the book. The chapter concludes with a case study from the USA, where this new mobility transformation was initiated and where it is still leading technology development and business innovations. The case study discusses some key challenges ahead for AVs in the USA, including attitude to car ownership and behavioural changes with regard to transportation network companies (TNCs), AVs and their impacts on transit services, and the role the government is playing.