Future looks bright, and hands-free on the roads

Queenslanders will zip around in driverless drones, shunning car ownership for a new network of transport options under the State Government’s vision for the future. And it’s coming sooner than you think.

QUEENSLANDERS will zip around in driverless drones, shunning car ownership for a new network of transport options under the State Government’s vision for the future.

The new 30-year Queensland draft Transport Strategy predicts highly-autonomous, eyes-off transport will roll out from 2020 to 2025 and vehicles will be hands-off, fully automated by 2026.

The document sets out a future in which people won’t buy cars but rather rely on a network of autonomous, electric cars and high-frequency, driverless trains and buses linked by transport hubs.

A monthly travel subscription would allow the use of bike, scooter and car hire, public transport, taxis, autonomous ride share and air travel, and plan trips as needed.

In the future, Sophie Whyte and Georgia Hoare may need to have a monthly subscription to access the CityCycle scheme and many other transport options.

Passenger drones will enable Queenslanders to get around, even in flood zones, and will deliver freight and residential parcels, taking trucks off the road.

Driverless cars and buses will reroute themselves based on live traffic information and car crashes will be a thing of the past as driver error and fatigue is removed.

Their use will save the state $10 billion a year in lost productivity by 2031 by addressing urban congestion.

Innovative tolling will see users pay only for the sections of the road they actually use.

And home solar systems will be used to charge electric cars as petrol vehicles die out and the state transitions to zero net emissions from transport.

The future is electric: Jonathan and Michelle Curro, with baby Matteo, charge up their electric car at home in McDowall. Picture: AAP/John Gass

“The extent of change in transport is unprecedented,” the document reads.
“Perhaps even more significant is the unknown nature of many of these changes.

“It is difficult to predict which technological developments will transform our lives over the next 30 years.”

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said emerging technology trends like hydrogen and zero-emission vehicles would give Queenslanders the best possible transport system.

“We need to keep pace with technological change in other developed nations as well as grow jobs in an emerging industry,” he said.

The Government says it’s investigating technological advances worldwide to inform its planning and is seeking feedback on its draft strategy by May 24.