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6 out of 10 Global Consumers Expect Driverless Revolution

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

City planners and governments need to prepare for introduction of self-driving cars; smart mobility cities such as Gothenburg and Singapore are already doing so, according to new survey results by the World Economic Forum released today.

The age of autonomous vehicles is fast approaching, and city leaders need to take steps to prepare as the disruptive technology becomes a reality.

Nearly 60% of consumers report willingness to travel in a fully self-driving vehicle (SDV), and cities expect shared SDVs to be more common in the next 10 years. In the consumer survey among 5,500 respondents in 10 countries, acceptance is highest in emerging markets, such as China, India and the United Arab Emirates, with about 50% in the US and the UK; acceptance rates were lowest in Japan and Germany.

As part of a project the World Economic Forum also conducted interviews with over 20 city policy-makers and transport authorities from cities such as Dubai, Helsinki, New York, Amsterdam, Singapore and Toronto about their expectations for SDVs. The survey showed that most city authorities believe that applications like shared self-driving vehicles are coming very quickly and will have the potential to be the last-mile solution for public transport.

For cities that have started planning, trials with SDVs are often the first step to test their impact on urban mobility. Such trials are ongoing in Singapore, and are under way in Gothenburg, (Sweden) and Milton Keynes (UK).

Read the full press release at World Economic Forum