A new report has urged action to ensure disabled people benefit from self-driving vehicles.
The report ‘The Impact of Automated Transport on Disabled People’ from the Transport Research Foundation (the parent company to TRL Ltd) and the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RiDC) has raised concerns that disabled people could be left behind unless accessibility is prioritised from the outset with automated transport.
The study explores how disabled people could become regular users of self-driving vehicles. However, it also warns that without careful consideration, automated transport systems could replicate or even exacerbate the barriers disabled individuals currently face when using existing transport modes.
“Overall, disabled consumers are enthusiastic about the potential of automated transport to offer greater independence”, said Indigo Ayling from RiDC.
“However, this research should be a wake-up call to designers, policy makers and regulators. Our findings show that many of the challenges already experienced in conventional transport, such as difficulties boarding vehicles, lack of accessible information, and the absence of staff to provide assistance, will persist or worsen if not addressed in automated systems. Involving disabled people from the beginning in the design and testing of new services is essential.”
The research was funded by the Motability Foundation. The project was initiated by TRL and RiDC in response to growing concerns that the needs of disabled people are not being taken into consideration by the teams designing driverless vehicles and planning for transport services using driverless vehicles.
