IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2019 - 36

OPINION

Teresa Galvão Dias

he impact of driverless cars is being
increasingly discussed, with numerous scholars and
experts trying to predict the future
of cities when this technology
becomes widespread adopted.
While driverless cars present, in several scenarios, some clear advantages compared to human-driven
cars, they rise a number of challenges that should be faced carefully
and objectively.
The article "Driverless Cars will
Make Passenger Rails Obsolete"
(Wiseman, this issue p. 22) predicts
the replacement of passenger rails
with driverless cars. Wiseman does

It is essential not only to estimate
the sales potential of driverless
cars, but also to debate how
they will affect the society and
cities' livability.
not clarify the time horizon for this
scenario to become a reality, but
we believe it can only happen in the
long term. First, "driverless cars"
correspond to level 5 of automation,
in which the car is fully automated
under all roadway and environmenDigital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2019.2913070
Date of publication: 30 May 2019

Driverless Cars -
Another Piece
of the Puzzle
tal conditions that can be managed
by a human driver. Most experts
acknowledge that significant technical progress is needed before Level
5 automation is reliable, tested,
and approved [1], [2]. Second, the
term "passenger rail" includes all
public transport running on rails.
This comprises intercity
railways (interurban, re g iona l, and high-speed
ra ilways) and intra- c i t y
railways (light rail, tram,
and metro). Whereas intercity railways involve higher
speed s, longer route s,
and lower frequency, intracity transit involves lower
speeds, shorter routes, and
higher frequency. In such an
audacious vision as Wiseman's, all public transport
running on rails (and perhaps buses
as well) will be replaced by fully
autonomous cars.
It is not possible to say categorically if this scenario is likely to happen, but in that eventuality, we should
discuss the benefits and also the
drawbacks of such a situation. Some
experts are cautious, but many firms
and companies make the most optiIEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

mistic predictions regarding potential markets and penetration rates
[3], [4]. However, it is essential not
only to estimate the sales potential
of driverless cars but also to debate
how they will affect the society and
cities' livability.
There are several reasons to be
vigilant and cautious about the setting forecasted by Wiseman. He
describes four main reasons that
would imply a shift from the rail
transport to driverless cars. According to the author, driverless cars
would promote less congestion and
fewer emissions, while increasing
passengers' safety, convenience,
and comfort. These features involve
strong interactions between technological, sociological, and policy
issues. Wiseman adopts a biased
perspective without considering or
analyzing the interaction between
these various topics.
In this response to Wiseman's
proposition, we assume a benevolent
point of view and accept that all technological challenges are solved, with
all driverless cars being safe, secure,
comfortable, and emissions efficient.
Based on these assumptions, we
analyze the impact of driverless
∕

JUNE 2019

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2019

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