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Technological advances relevant to transport – understanding what drives them

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  • Cohen, Tom
  • Jones, Peter

Abstract

Transport policy makers are increasingly perplexed by the pace of change in their sector and by the increasing influence of external actors. This leads to a variety of responses, including “business as usual”, technological optimism, technological fatalism and technological ignorance. To explore this perplexity and its justification, we examine four areas of technological advance relevant to transport: mobility as a service; unmanned aerial vehicles (drones); automated vehicles; and telehealth. In each case, we identify the principal underlying shifts which are driving these technological advances, concluding that there is considerable overlap: three of the advances rely on ubiquitous sensing and on artificial intelligence and all four rely, to some degree, on connectedness. We then explore these three “drivers”, finding that progress is steadier than may be generally thought. We discuss the implications for our set of transport-related technological developments, concluding that policy makers could approach the future with greater confidence than is currently typical. They could also draw on the concepts of anticipatory governance to support their management of emerging technology and, at the same time, of the influence of external actors.

Suggested Citation

  • Cohen, Tom & Jones, Peter, 2020. "Technological advances relevant to transport – understanding what drives them," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 80-95.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:135:y:2020:i:c:p:80-95
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2020.03.002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Zhu, Shengda & Bell, Michael G.H. & Schulz, Veronica & Stokoe, Michael, 2023. "Co-modality in city logistics: Sounds good, but how?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    3. Kaplan, Marcella & Hotle, Susan & Heaslip, Kevin, 2023. "How has COVID-19 impacted customer perceptions and demand for delivery services: An exploratory analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 217-230.
    4. Xiaodong Chen & Anda Guo & Jiahao Zhu & Fang Wang & Yanqiu He, 2022. "Accessing performance of transport sector considering risks of climate change and traffic accidents: joint bounded-adjusted measure and Luenberger decomposition," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 111(1), pages 115-138, March.
    5. ElSayed, Mo & Foda, Ahmed & Mohamed, Moataz, 2024. "The impact of civil airspace policies on the viability of adopting autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles in last-mile applications," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 37-54.

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