Modeling the Impacts of Autonomous Vehicles on Land Use Using a LUTI Model

Rubén Cordera, Soledad Nogués, Esther González-González and José Luis Moura
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Rubén Cordera: Department of Transport and Projects and Processes Technology, School of Civil Engineering, University of Cantabria, Av. de Los Castros 44, 39005 Santander, Cantabria, Spain
Soledad Nogués: Department of Transport and Projects and Processes Technology, School of Civil Engineering, University of Cantabria, Av. de Los Castros 44, 39005 Santander, Cantabria, Spain
Esther González-González: Department of Transport and Projects and Processes Technology, School of Civil Engineering, University of Cantabria, Av. de Los Castros 44, 39005 Santander, Cantabria, Spain
José Luis Moura: Department of Transport and Projects and Processes Technology, School of Civil Engineering, University of Cantabria, Av. de Los Castros 44, 39005 Santander, Cantabria, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-16

Abstract: Autonomous vehicles (AVs) can generate major changes in urban systems due to their ability to use road infrastructures more efficiently and shorten trip times. However, there is great uncertainty about these effects and about whether the use of these vehicles will continue to be private, in continuity with the current paradigm, or whether they will become shared (carsharing/ridesharing). In order to try to shed light on these matters, the use of a scenario-based methodology and the evaluation of the scenarios using a land use–transport interaction model (LUTI model TRANSPACE) is proposed. This model allows simulating the impacts that changes in the transport system can generate on the location of households and companies oriented to local demand and accessibility conditions. The obtained results allow us to state that, if AVs would generate a significant increase in the capacity of urban and interurban road infrastructures, the impacts on mobility and on the location of activities could be positive, with a decrease in the distances traveled, trip times, and no evidence of significant urban sprawl processes. However, if these increases in capacity are accompanied by a large augment in the demand for shared journeys by new users (young, elderly) or empty journeys, the positive effects could disappear. Thus, this scenario would imply an increase in trip times, reduced accessibilities, and longer average distances traveled, all of which could cause the unwanted effect of expelling activities from the consolidated urban center.

Keywords: autonomous vehicles; land use; LUTI model; accessibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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