Driverless car passengers could pay more for quicker trips

DRIVERLESS car passengers willing — or wealthy enough — to fork out more cash will be able to get to their destination quicker by bidding online for right of way, two Melbourne philosophers warn.

PASSENGERS travelling in self-driving vehicles could pay extra for privileged road access and faster routes, according to Monash University experts.

Users would be able to decide how much to pay depending on their budget and the urgency of their trip, philosophers Robert Sparrow and Mark Howard said.

FISHERMANS BEND COULD BE DRIVERLESS CAR HUB

MINISTER’S PLEA ON SELF-DRIVING CARS

FLYING CARS ON MELBOURNE’S HORIZON

“The cars of those who paid lower prices could be made to slow down and move aside in order to allow the cars of those who had paid higher prices to pass them,” Prof Sparrow said.

Online auctions could also be held to decide who got through an intersection first.

Uber has been trialling self-driving cars in the US. Picture: AFP

Prof Sparrow said there was a growing belief that no one would own cars in the future. “You’ll have Uber without the drivers,’’ he said.

The cars would be integrated with each other and a central transport system, co-ordinating traffic flows. “If every vehicle is computer- controlled, you don’t need traffic lights at all. And if you can do that, people will be prepared to pay more for the trip that will get through first,’’ Prof Sparrow said.

Waymo believes its Jaguar I-PACE will be the first premium self-driving electric vehicle by 2020 in America. Picture: Waymo

Studies continue in Victoria on how autonomous vehicles could merge into the existing traffic network with normal cars.

An autonomous bus has been successfully trialled at La Trobe University and further studies have been conducted on the use of the technology on CityLink and EastLink.

Prof Sparrow said that some automation was already occurring in cars, with automatic parking and active cruise ­control.

But he warned that the ­potential increased efficiency could have social and ethical implications because the road could become a place where the wealthy could buy their right of way, further entrenching the divide between rich and poor.

“It’s something governments and policymakers need to carefully consider in their quest for more efficient road networks.”

Prof Sparrow predicted self-driving cars would be on Victorian roads by 2025.

In June, EastLink managing director Charles Griplas told an international conference it was possible that a third of ­vehicles on the state’s roads would be autonomous by 2028.

[e-mail]

@IanRoyall