Lies, Damned Lies, Avs, Shared Mobility, and Urban Transit Futures

Abstract

The article is devoted to the criticism of the widespread discourses about automated (driverless) vehicles and shared mobility, according to which these groups of technologies will dominate in the future cities and will displace public transport. The author examines in detail the false theses at the heart of each of these discourses and shows that the promises they make are proofless or even contradict the facts. The key one is to solve the problem of congestion on urban roads. Only public transport, due to its high occupancy rate, can effectively use the road space, while shared mobility often does not imply shared trips, and therefore an increase in the occupancy rate of cars. In conclusion, the author outlines promising trends in the field of public transport, in particular, the synthesis of elements of the organization of different types of transport and the further introduction of sharing and automation.