Using emerging technologies to tackle mobility challenges caused by population ageing: Experiences from Japan

Gregory Trencher, Masaru Yarime and Jeongsoo Yu

Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2024, vol. 208, issue C

Abstract: As population ageing accelerates globally, addressing its manifold impacts on society has become a critical mission for technological development. Mobility is a key domain where population ageing poses both challenges and opportunities. Innovations such as autonomous vehicles and Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) are widely discussed in literature, with many studies focusing on user acceptance. But knowledge lacks about the experiences of implementing these innovations in mobility services for elderly people. This empirical study uses evidence from interviews with practitioners and experts to deepen knowledge of the mobility challenges caused by an ageing society, and how technological and service innovation could address these. With Japan as a case study, we examine: (1) mobility-related problems caused by population ageing and decline; (2) expectations regarding the potential of MaaS and autonomous vehicles to address these problems; and (3) barriers to achieving these expectations. The analysis reveals that population ageing in Japan is creating societal challenges especially in safety, driver shortages, deteriorating transport services and profitability, accessibility barriers, and compromised health and well-being. These challenges are interlinked and self-reinforcing, making them difficult to address. As next-generation mobility projects flourish across Japan, we identify tensions between expectations about their potential and the starker reality confronting them.

Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162524005274
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:208:y:2024:i:c:s0040162524005274

DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2024.123729

Access Statistics for this article

Technological Forecasting and Social Change is currently edited by Fred Phillips

More articles in Technological Forecasting and Social Change from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().