Emissions and Energy Implications of Self-Driving Vehicles

PI: Kara Kockelman, University of Texas.

Project Description:

While saving drivers time (and crashes), connected (communicating) and self-driving or autonomous vehicles (CAVs) will increase vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) and thus congestion, at least for some period, due to the potential for non-drivers to travel independently, empty-vehicles repositioning themselves, and greater land development at the periphery of regions. This project‟s objective is to estimate the energy implications of (publicly and privately held) self-driving vehicles, for individual and shared use, with and without dynamic ride-sharing, under different energy and technology pricing scenarios over a 20-year horizon.