Road to autonomous vehicles in Australia: an exploratory literature review

Autonomous vehicle technology and its potential effects on traffic and daily activities is a popular topic in the media and in the research community. It is anticipated that AVs will reduce accidents, improve congestion, increase the utility of time spent travelling and reduce social exclusion. However, knowledge about the way in which AVs will function in a transport system is still modest and a recent international study showed a lower familiarity with AVs in Australia compared to the USA and UK. Attitudes towards fully automated driving (or higher levels of autonomy) range from 'excitement' to 'suspicion'. The breadth of feelings may be due to the low level of awareness or reflect polarising attitudinal positions. Whilst experts appear to be more confident about the adoption of AV technology in the near future, public acceptance is key to AVs' market success. Hence, research that examines local contexts and opinions is needed. This paper reviews existing scholarly work and identifies gaps and directions for future developments, with a focus on the Australian context. The review will address the following broad categories: investigation of AV features and mobility models, implications for road traffic and connectivity to infrastructure (especially in low to medium density urban areas), public attitudes and concerns, travel behaviour and demand, potential business models, and policy implications. The aims of the paper are to identify critical issues for the development of a focus group inquiry to understand attitudes of potential users of AVs and to highlight AV development issues for policy makers in Australia.