Understanding consumer demand for new transport technologies and services, and implications for the future of mobility

TL;DR

This paper reviews emerging transport technologies and services, analyzing their potential to disrupt current mobility patterns and exploring implications for future societal and individual transportation behaviors.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of recent advances in transport tech and demand studies, highlighting their potential impacts on future mobility and societal structures.

Findings

Emerging technologies like autonomous vehicles and shared mobility are poised to significantly alter travel behaviors.

Demand for new transport services varies across different subpopulations and regions.

Future mobility will likely involve increased suburbanization and changes in private car ownership.

Abstract

The transport sector is witnessing unprecedented levels of disruption. Privately owned cars that operate on internal combustion engines have been the dominant modes of passenger transport for much of the last century. However, recent advances in transport technologies and services, such as the development of autonomous vehicles, the emergence of shared mobility services, and the commercialization of alternative fuel vehicle technologies, promise to revolutionise how humans travel. The implications are profound: some have predicted the end of private car dependent Western societies, others have portended greater suburbanization than has ever been observed before. If transport systems are to fulfil current and future needs of different subpopulations, and satisfy short and long-term societal objectives, it is imperative that we comprehend the many factors that shape individual behaviour. This chapter introduces the technologies and services most likely to disrupt prevailing practices in the transport sector. We review past studies that have examined current and future demand for these new technologies and services, and their likely short and long-term impacts on extant mobility patterns. We conclude with a summary of what these new technologies and services might mean for the future of mobility.