Sustainable mobility in rural areas based on autonomous vehicles and mobility on-demand : a pre-feasibility study for Lower Austria

Abstract

In the past century, private automobiles have shaped personal mobility by enabling fast and convenient point-to-point travel. However, this development is having a serious effect on the sustainable nature of our transport system. To transform personal transportation to a sustainable mobility system, two fields of research are currently receiving considerable attention: autonomous vehicles and mobility on-demand. So far, the focus of this research has been on implementing autonomous vehicles and mobility on-demand in urban environments, with far too little attention paid to rural areas. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the potential of autonomous vehicles applied in a mobility on-demand concept in Lower Austria, in order to provide sustainable mobility in rural areas. In the course of this, a new mobility model derived from the two concepts is developed. The model is based on a literature review as well as a quantitative analysis of secondary data. The findings confirm the hypothesis that an autonomous mobility on-demand model can increase mobility and make personal transportation more sustainable in Lower Austria. One of the more significant findings to emerge from this study is that autonomous vehicles can eliminate the limitations of current mobility on-demand models and allow them to expand to rural areas. It was also shown that the developed model would have a substantial impact on Lower Austria, enable the use of transport resources more efficiently and ultimately change the way we perceive automobile travel. Taken together, these results suggest that further research is necessary to evaluate the feasibility of the developed model. This research should be undertaken now to ensure that Lower Austria is ready when autonomous vehicles hit the roads. Furthermore, the study has gone some way towards enhancing our understanding of autonomous vehicles and their ability to improve personal transportation in rural areas.