Key Factors Influencing Autonomous Vehicles’ Energy and Environmental Outcome

摘要: 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 energy and environmental characteristics of transportation sector. This paper provides an outline key drivers likely to influence magnitude direction these impacts. We identify three broad categories: vehicle characteristics, network, consumer choice. Optimistically, AVs could facilitate unprecedented levels efficiency radically reduce sector impacts; other hand, choices result in net increase consumption As technology matures approaches market penetration, improved models AV usage, especially preferences, will development policies promote reductions consumption.