With just a few weeks to go until City Transport & Road Pricing Europe Conference 2021, CiTTi meets speaker Dimitri Konstantas, coordinator of the EU’s Horizon 2020 AVENUE project, who will discuss deploying the full potential of autonomous vehicles in public transportation.
Taking place on 11-12 May 2021 via virtual conferencing platform Swapcard, City Transport & Road Pricing Europe 2021 will explore the latest developments and technologies shaping urban transportation via four key content themes: road pricing and tolling; emissions and sustainability; congestion and traffic management; and transportation infrastructure.
This two-day online event will see over 20 expert speakers highlight the latest road pricing and tolling projects, discuss intelligent transport infrastructures and present urban mobility schemes being implemented in major towns and cities across Europe, from Ljubljana and Oslo to Brussels and Lahti.
Name: Dimitri Konstantas
Job Role: Coordinator
Organisation: Horizon 2020 AVENUE project
What is the best thing about your job?
Being a researcher allows me to work in innovative projects, be in contact with state-of-the-art technologies and talk with experts in diverse domains.
What is the biggest challenge facing those with responsibility for developing and deploying autonomous vehicles as a form of public transport?
In Europe we live in a world that is highly regulated and fragmented. Every new technology faces a regulatory mountain that is not adapted to the fast evolving technological evolution, and which can take years to be changed. This makes deployment of real public transport services very difficult and, most problematic of all, region dependant.
What’s your best piece of advice for those tasked with developing and deploying autonomous vehicles as a form of public transport?
Deploying autonomous vehicles for public transportation has nothing to do with the deployment of conventional buses. Do not consider that because you have high expertise in conventional public transportation modes, you can consider autonomous vehicles as just another type of bus to integrate. Engage with experts in autonomous vehicle deployment to understand the real needs and issues before even considering deployment areas and start making plans.
Does legislation help or hinder development in the sector?
Current legislation dramatically hinders development in the sector, despite efforts of public authorities to facilitate. The legal framework for the deployment of autonomous vehicles is not compatible with the full operation of autonomous vehicles. For example, on-demand, door-to-door services where a bus can stop anywhere are inconceivable in the current regulatory framework. Furthermore, developers are hindered by a lack of and inability to collect data, such as videos of passengers and environments around autonomous vehicles to identify situations and develop artificial intelligence services for better road behaviour. And, despite the reassurance of EU authorities, GDPR remains a major blocking element in data collection and usage by vehicle manufactures in public transportation – no public transport operator can share their collected data.
How will autonomous vehicles be integrated into urban transportation infrastructures by 2030?
I see a model where we will have a mass transport backbone (e.g. trains, trams) and numerous small, electric, fully automated vehicles serving urban and sub-urban transportation in on-demand, door-to-door services. Intra-urban transportation will be performed exclusively by autonomous vehicle, while inter-urban will be provided by backbone services. The number of large buses will also be reduced and replaced by fewer, smaller autonomous vehicles.
Why are you looking forward to speaking at City Transport & Road Pricing Europe 2021?
For two reasons : firstly, I would like to pass the experience we have gained in the deployment of autonomous vehicles, and secondly to learn from other deployment issues and advances made.
At the conference you’ll also be able to hear from Continental, Transport & Environment, Greenplan, the cities of Stuttgart and Oslo, the European Green Capital 2021 project… and more! You can view the full agenda here. All times are shown in CET (GMT+1). All sessions will be available after the conference on-demand.
For partnership enquiries, please contact Robert Gouge at robert.gouge@akabomedia.co.uk or by calling +44 (0) 20 8065 0465. For speaking opportunities, please contact Claudia Davidson at claudia.davidson@akabomedia.co.uk or by calling +44 (0) 20 8037 1777.
