Automated Mobility : The People behind the Wheel

UITP

If you are curious about automated mobility - also called autonomous, self-driving, or driverless mobility - this podcast is for you. Through a series of interviews, you will get familiar with the concept of automated mobility, how it can impact our lives and you will get to know the people driving this enormous change in urban mobility. The podcast is hosted in the context of the EU-funded project SHOW, which tests automated vehicles in cities across Europe. Hosted by Dr Henriette Cornet, CCAM Manager at UITP (the International Association of Public Transport). Disclaimer: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 875530. The sole responsibility for the content of this podcast lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. Neither the CINEA nor the European Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. Credits: Direction and recordings: Henriette Cornet, UITP Production and graphic identity: Charlotte van Hek and Laurent Murgia, UITP Sound design and editing: David Henrard, freelancer read less
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Episodes

#14 William Levassor – How Public Transport Operators steer the future of autonomous vehicle fleets
Dec 20 2023
#14 William Levassor – How Public Transport Operators steer the future of autonomous vehicle fleets
In this episode, William Levassor from beti, a French public transport operator (PTO) specialized in low-density areas, shares insights about their mission to combat mobility white zones through innovative mobility solutions. William talks to us about the pivotal role operators play in bridging the gap between AV technology providers and their clients – the territories – making sure to provide inclusive solutions. We dive into the challenges and opportunities in operating autonomous shuttles with the need for hypervision that covers the numerous roles of the operators from service and passengers’ management, field events management and support for driving. We clarify the terminology and expectations towards telesupervision and even, remote driving. William talks about Beti's vision for the future of mobility operations, the role of AI in enhancing safety, and the unique challenges faced by operators in the dynamic landscape of transportation.  "Deploying an AV service in a city is not only about driving the vehicles for point A to B; our focus as PTOs extends beyond. It's about orchestrating seamless daily operations with high quality of service and security for all." Don't miss this in-depth exploration of the transformative journey towards a more connected and efficient mobility ecosystem. *** This is the last episode for Henriette Cornet as the host of this podcast series, as she is starting a new professional chapter soon. Follow her online to make sure to stay in touch! *** -- Acronyms: PTO: Public Transport OperatorsDRT: Demand-responsive Transport. More info here. Links: Beti Beti’s SHOW pilot site at Crest Val-de-Drome -- Subscribe to the SHOW newsletter  Disclaimer: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 875530. The sole responsibility for the content of this podcast lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. Neither the CINEA nor the European Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
#11 William Riggs – Purpose-built urban technologies for liveable cities
Nov 30 2022
#11 William Riggs – Purpose-built urban technologies for liveable cities
In this episode, SHOW welcomes a special guest, Professor William (Billy) Riggs from the University of San Francisco. He shares his views on the current deployments of robotaxis in the US, especially through his collaboration with Cruise in San Francisco. We learn about the service in place and how it can complement the public transport system at nighttime. Billy tells us about his vision of a liveable city in which “autonomous travel is connected to our goals of a pedestrian and cycling-friendly city”.    Links:  University of San Francisco, School of ManagementAutonomous Vehicles & the City Initiative: November 2022 conference recordings Cruise Self Driving CarsPaper “The Trip Characteristics of Pilot Autonomous Vehicle Rider Program” by William Riggs et al., 2022 Book “End of the Road – Reimagining the street as the heart of the city” by William Riggs, Bristol Press 2022 Paper “Gaps and opportunities in accessibility policy for Autonomous Vehicles”, Mineta Transportation Institute, 2021 The 15-minute city by Carlos Moreno  Acronyms:  TNC: Transportation Network Companies (e.g., Uber, Lyft) ODD: Operational Domain Design  -- Subscribe to the SHOW newsletter to receive the latest updates  Disclaimer: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 875530. The sole responsibility for the content of this podcast lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. Neither the CINEA nor the European Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
#10 Lieselot Vanhaverbeke & Evy Rombaut – Impact assessment as key for sustainable automated mobility
Oct 26 2022
#10 Lieselot Vanhaverbeke & Evy Rombaut – Impact assessment as key for sustainable automated mobility
In this episode, Professors Lieselot Vanhaverbeke and Evy Rombaut from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) share with us why evaluating the impacts of automated mobility is essential to move towards more sustainable cities. After a brief introduction of the history of VUB, we get to know the research institute MOBI, in which the M3ICA methodology was invented. This methodology helps the researchers of the project understand the multiple layers of impacts that AVs have on micro and macro levels, considering a variety of criteria (e.g., safety, environment, traffic flow) and stakeholders (e.g., citizens, municipalities). Both Lieselot and Evy speak about their passion for sustainable mobility and how it connects to their personal experiences, among others with music! Acronyms: MOBI - Mobility, Logistics and Automotive Technology Research Centre M3ICA - Multi-Impact, multi-Criteria, and multi-Actor analysis   Links MOBI research centreSHOW deliverable D9.3 Pilot experimental plans, KPIs definition & impact assessment framework for final demonstration roundTransport Research Arena conferencePodcast (in Dutch) “De zelfrijdende shuttle: UZ Brussel”Chapter of the book (in Dutch) “Autonome Motorvoertuigen - Een multidisciplinair onderzoek naar de maatschappelijke impact”And last but not least: Moby’s song “Mobility” -- Subscribe to the SHOW newsletter to receive the latest updates  Disclaimer: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 875530. The sole responsibility for the content of this podcast lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. Neither the CINEA nor the European Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
#9 Guido di Pasquale – Paving the way to interdisciplinary collaboration
Sep 28 2022
#9 Guido di Pasquale – Paving the way to interdisciplinary collaboration
In this episode, Guido reminds us the vision of UITP for a sustainable mobility with the motto “move people, not cars”. He explains how he contributed to make UITP an important player in the field of automated mobility with the creation of the SPACE project, which kicked off in 2018 and from which SHOW originates. Beyond learning on how SHOW was created, we hear about Guido’s interests for the project demos, which aim to put Automated Vehicles in the midst of the public over several months of operation. Guido also explains why European funded projects are powerful tools for research in Europe to establish interdisciplinary collaboration between countries. Finally, Guido presents a new association called “PAVE Europe” dedicated on enhancing the public understanding of driverless technology since “we can only succeed if we involve the public now”.   Links : The non-profit association ITxPT The new association PAVE Europe The EU project Data4PT  UITP’s project SPACE  The SHOW demonstration sites   -- Subscribe to the SHOW newsletter to receive the latest updates  Disclaimer: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 875530. The sole responsibility for the content of this podcast lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. Neither the CINEA nor the European Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
#8 Delphine Grandsart – For a continuous citizen engagement
Aug 31 2022
#8 Delphine Grandsart – For a continuous citizen engagement
In this episode, Delphine introduces EPF – the European Passengers Federation – and its members. She tells us about the passengers whose needs and wishes are key when developing a seamless mobility system in the city. In SHOW, Delphine is in charge of the user engagement strategy: she shares with us the different forms that this engagement can take: focus groups, ideathons, hackathons or even citizens’ dialogues, with the ultimate goal to unveil “how much technology do we need for our mobility and what is in it for the end-users and for the society as a whole”. She reminds us that user engagement is a continuous action because new users will always come to try the service and we should not forget about keeping a human touch while developing automated mobility services.   Links : EPF The European Passengers FederationSHOW user engagement strategySHOW pre-acceptance survey of AVsSHOW 1st Hackathon in ThessalonikiSHOW CCAM Marketplace -- Subscribe to the SHOW newsletter to receive the latest updates  Disclaimer: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 875530. The sole responsibility for the content of this podcast lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. Neither the CINEA nor the European Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
#6 Ingrid Skogsmo – Understanding better citizens’ needs
Jun 29 2022
#6 Ingrid Skogsmo – Understanding better citizens’ needs
In this episode we get to know Ingrid Skogsmo, from VTI (the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute). Ingrids tells us how her career and interest into automated mobility started 20 years ago at Volvo, while working in crash safety. As leader of the Cluster on Societal Aspects and User Needs at the CCAM Association, Ingrid highlights that “It is not the consumer that we have to convince about technology, it is everyone out there and their expectations towards more safety, better environment, less congestion and more jobs”.   After many years of experience in automated mobility, she sees the need for staying humble towards what we don’t know and continuing the exploration: “Even if we did not know the full picture, we tried to define small steps of things where we knew that – at least if we do this – we go in the right direction.”  --  Links:  VTI ECTRI ‘European Conference of Transport Research Institutes’  CCAM Association SHOW Citizens engagement strategyMobility Personas in Singapore    --  Subscribe to the SHOW newsletter to receive the latest updates  Disclaimer: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 875530. The sole responsibility for the content of this podcast lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. Neither the CINEA nor the European Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
#3 Katharina Karnahl – Towards seamless and safe transportation
Mar 30 2022
#3 Katharina Karnahl – Towards seamless and safe transportation
In this episode, you will learn about the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and the specific role of Katharina Karnahl in the Institute of Transportation Systems. Katharina explains us the concept of intermodality, in which you can use seamlessly several means of transport to reach your destination. She mentions the need for connectivity of vehicles – if automated or not – to enable more fluidity in the traffic flow and reduce the emissions of vehicles.  In her vision of the perfect city, she doesn’t have to bother on how to get from A to be, about the parking space or about traffic jam. For this, she underlines the need of integration of different means of transportation (including AVs) in the public transport system so that “we have the possibility to move around smoothly, safely, with low emission and negative effect on mobility”. -- Links: DLR: German Aerospace Center | Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt. Institute of Transportation Systems  German sites in SHOW -- Subscribe to the SHOW newsletter to receive the latest updates Disclaimer: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 875530. The sole responsibility for the content of this podcast lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. Neither the CINEA nor the European Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
#1 Endre Angelvik – Towards more sustainable freedom of movement
Jan 21 2022
#1 Endre Angelvik – Towards more sustainable freedom of movement
In this episode, you will get to know Endre Angelvik, who is Executive Vice President of Radical Innovation at Ruter, chair of the Combined Mobility Committee at UITP and lastly member of the Advisory Board of the SHOW project. You will learn about Ruter and Endre’s various missions, all being gathered under the humble objective of changing the world! Endre shared with us his vision of car-free city and how Automated Shared Mobility could help for that. “Automated Vehicles have the potential to make service cheaper from an operator point of view, which means theoretically that the service will be available to more people.” He speaks about his motivation for the field and why we should put more (driverless) wheels on the ground. -- Links: Ruter website Combined Mobility Committee UITPAdvisory Board members of SHOW  Policy Brief on Autonomous Mobility  -- Acronyms: MaaS: Mobility as a ServicePTA: Public Transport AuthorityPTO: Public Transport OperatorAVs: Automated Vehicles -- Subscribe to the SHOW newsletter to receive the latest updates Disclaimer: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 875530. The sole responsibility for the content of this podcast lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. Neither the CINEA nor the European Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.