Autonomous Vehicle Policies Must Be Flexible to Support Deployment in Rural Regions

Fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) hold the potential to significantly improve traffic safety, mobility and accessibility, and energy efficiency—longstanding challenges for rural transportation planning. Some of these benefits are inherent to automation and therefore achievable through private AV ownership, while other benefits can only be achieved if AVs are operated in a shared fleet through a carsharing model. AV benefits such as increased vehicle occupancy are only achieved if the AV is used for ridesharing. AVs may also significantly increase vehicle travel and associated environmental impacts. The magnitude of the changes in vehicle travel and environmental impact will depend to a significant degree on the extent to which AVs are available for individual ownership vs. carsharing or ridesharing. As a result, shared mobility is commonly cited as an important strategy for mitigating growth in vehicle travel. Most AV research to date has been done in an urban context. Changes in travel behavior brought about by automation will likely differ in rural areas, which are characterized by long travel distances and dispersed populations. Different policies may be needed to realize the mobility and safety benefits of vehicle automation in rural areas. To consider these issues, researchers at the University of Vermont and University of Waterloo reviewed the existing literature on AVs in shared and private ownership scenarios and assessed the benefits inherent to AVs (regardless of ownership model) as well as of the benefits and challenges of AV-sharing in rural areas relative to urban areas. This policy brief summarizes the findings from that research and provides policy implications. View the NCST Project Webpage