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Implementing commercial autonomous road haulage in freight operations : an industry perspective

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Sindi, Safaa and Woodman, Roger (2021) Implementing commercial autonomous road haulage in freight operations : an industry perspective. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 152 (1). pp. 235-253. doi:10.1016/j.tra.2021.08.003 ISSN 0965-8564.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2021.08.003

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Abstract

Interest from industry and policy makers on the use of autonomous goods vehicles (AGVs) for commercial use, has increased rapidly as the underlying technology has developed. This study looks at the potential impact of autonomous road haulage on logistics operations and barriers for commercial implementation in the UK. The research focuses on large goods vehicles, capable of automated driving, where the driver is not required for some or all of the journey, for logistics operations between suppliers, manufacturing plant, and retailer. The data is collected through semi-structured interviews and scoring questionnaires. All 76 participants had experience working in the logistics industry, from various parts of the operations process. The data was analysed using thematic analysis followed with the results subsequently ranked by participants to identify the importance and perceived impact. Results revealed a near-term barrier for adoption of autonomous technology, is the lack of standardisation, as technology is progressing in many different directions, with little consultation on what features are needed or how they will be implemented. The findings show the main impact of commercialisation of autonomous road haulage are overall maintenance cost reduction, due to less wear and tear, and operational cost reduction, especially for long-haul journeys, as vehicles can operate for longer hours. Moreover, despite barriers in the short term, such as public acceptance and transition costs, these will likely be outweighed by improvements in efficiency and utilisation. Based on findings from the study, we present six key considerations for the introduction of commercial autonomous road haulage, which can be used as a guide for policy makers, insurance companies, transport planning authorities, and vehicle manufacturers.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HE Transportation and Communications
T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
T Technology > TE Highway engineering. Roads and pavements
T Technology > TL Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics
Divisions: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Engineering > WMG (Formerly the Warwick Manufacturing Group)
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Intelligent transportation systems, Automated vehicles, Transportation, Automotive , Freight and freightage , Trucks -- Automatic control, Transportation and state
Journal or Publication Title: Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice
Publisher: Elsevier
ISSN: 0965-8564
Official Date: October 2021
Dates:
DateEvent
October 2021Published
4 September 2021Available
5 August 2021Accepted
Volume: 152
Number: 1
Page Range: pp. 235-253
DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2021.08.003
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access
Date of first compliant deposit: 6 September 2021
Date of first compliant Open Access: 4 September 2022

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