benefits of automated transportation

The continuous discovery and development of new technologies will hopefully improve how the masses are transported in the future. A driverless future isn’t the only advancement on its way, we’ll also experience connected vehicles soon.

There’s lots of excitement in the industry but there are still some hesitations. For today, let’s not focus on the negative but more on the positive side. So today, I’ll gladly tell you about the benefits of having automated and connected vehicles in the future.

Improved Safety

Vehicular accidents, specifically bus-related ones are usually due to human error. With the help of automation, public vehicles like buses can be installed with various programs to ensure safety.

Some of the safety features that we are most likely to see are the following:

• Automatic breaking for pedestrians
• Curb avoidance
• Smoother acceleration and deceleration
• Precise docking stations/systems

Better User Experience

Connected vehicles don’t only offer WiFi access to their passengers. With improved connection capabilities, they can also provide real-time information for their commuters. Valuable information such as wait times, reservations or discounts are readily available.

The connectivity also enables passengers to have a clearer picture on how to commute and get to one point to another through connected buses and even ride-sharing vehicles.

Reduce Congestion

Not all people can ride a public transportation vehicle and get to exactly where they want to go. More often than not, people resort to taking their vehicle during that last mile of travel. This can lead to congestion of roads due to single occupancy vehicles.

With automation and connectivity, it would be much easier to identify congested roads. Once they are identified, lawmakers can set rules that only multi-passenger vehicles to take those routes. This will not only reduce congestion but will also help reduce emissions.

Accessibility for All

Accessibility of public transport especially for the differently abled is quite challenging. That’s because when these modes of transport were designed before, they were not taken into consideration.

With the newly designed, automated and connected vehicles, their needs are better thought of. The goal here is to make it more convenient for everyone to use public transportation. The designs may include the utilization of ramps on docking stations and vehicles, improved seating or even rider assistance programs.

All these benefits can one day come true but it would take collaboration among agencies and groups. It would also take some trial and error, more improvements and developments. Like others, we are all hopeful that the day would come soon enough for us to experience it.