Unlike the American focus on luxury personal self-drivers, the European approach favors small self-driving buses that can ferry riders to larger transit lines.
Transportation culture can be very different across the Atlantic, and that holds true when it comes to driverless vehicles. Unlike this country, where self-driving car developers focus on prestigious personal transport, the European focus is on augmenting well-developed transit systems that already exist.
Barely exceeding walking pace, many of these locally-developed vehicles fit into the self-driving bus category. They're designed to fill in that "first and last mile" between transit riders' homes and stations or stops.
Mark Scott writes, "Forgoing the latest automotive trends of aerodynamics and style, European transportation groups and city planners are instead aiming to connect these unglamorous driverless vehicles to existing public transportation networks of subways and buses."
"In total, more than 20 pilot or existing public transport programs have taken place in Europe involving autonomous vehicles [...] Most of these projects have received government funding, tapping into local research institutions and tech start-ups that are not household names."
FULL STORY: The Future of European Transit: Driverless and Utilitarian
Op-Ed: 'Public Mood' Has Turned Against Cars in Cities
A survey of recent planning decisions demonstrates that cities are no longer necessarily looking to more and bigger highways to solve their traffic problems.
New Transit Systems of 2010
Garrett Bradford of TheCityFix reviews some of the most innovative and sustainable transit systems from around the globe that made their debut over the last twelve months.
Will Developing Nations Drive/Follow in our Faulted Footsteps?
The growth in hybrid car sales is a welcome sign that a major change in the automobile industry is afoot. The shift to transport infrastructure that is not based on the archaic complexity of an internal combustion engine, with its hundreds of moving parts and compressed fuel explosions, has been long put off by an automobile industry, happy with status quo, partnered with oil cartels with the power to price their product as if it were in endless supply. But with smack-in-the-face-reality fuel prices last summer, the collapse of the so-called “Big Three” over the winter, and the simultaneous heralding assertion of alternative energy technologies (Daimler AG bought a 10% stake in Tesla Motors last month!), the fallout of western economic near-collapse has changed everything we’ve known to be sacrosanct; Leonard Lopate even waxed nostalgic about the “Death of the Car Song” yesterday on National Public Radio’s local station, WNYC.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research