The world’s ever-increasing demand for transportation poses pressing challenges, not least for the environment. But flip the task on its head and the journey to transform the way people and goods are moved is a big opportunity for green innovation.
Major rail electrification projects underway in the UK – albeit dogged by delays – may reduce carbon emissions by as much as 35% when compared to diesel, with no emissions at the point of use. And many see high-speed rail as a “faster, greener” way to travel, despite its high price tag and impact on wildlife habitats and countryside views.
In Buenos Aires, rapid transit services were introduced on the Avenue 9 de Julio – the widest avenue in the world. It went from 20 car lanes to 10, with half the space now taken up with a “surface subway”, slashing the time it takes to cross the city and diverting people from their cars. And in Hangzhou, China, which already boasted the world’s largest bike sharing scheme, multi-storey electric car “vending machines” have now been installed.
In the UK, the building of Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 in 2008 also involved funding a personal light-rail system known as the pods. These self-driving, autonomous shuttles keep 70,000 bus journeys off the road each year by ferrying customers between Terminal 5 and the long-stay business car park. The zero emission, battery-operated pods have carried more than 1.5 million passengers in five years, easing congestion and saving the equivalent of 100 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, say Heathrow.
The pods are now proving the grand infrastructure project that was Terminal 5 to be greater than the sum of its parts, by being transformed into London’s first driverless vehicles. Heathrow is working with Westfield Sportscars and autonomous control specialist Oxbotica, to develop new automated pods for public trials this summer. Based on the Heathrow design, the companies will develop pods capable of operating autonomously and safely on the streets of London, as part of the £8m GATEway (Greenwich Automated Transport Environment) driverless car project in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
“The pods show how big infrastructure projects like the building of a new terminal can provide the investment and the creative space to invest in green technology,” said Heathrow’s head of rail Mark Chestney.
He viewed the transformation of Heathrow as a “once in a generation opportunity” to incorporate new, greener technology. At the time, the pods formed the only zero emissions autonomous transport system of its kind in the world. Passengers have proved receptive to their quick and reliable nature, particularly the short waiting times – over 90% of users are on the move within 40 seconds of requesting a pod. Unlike buses or trains, which often travel many miles empty, these vehicles only move and consume energy when they are required to. And Chestney said the infrastructure required for a pod system is “relatively light and simple when compared to traditional highways and rail systems”.
Results of the Greenwich trials will help both industry and policymakers better understand the implications of driverless vehicles. In fact, it seems west London is becoming somewhat of a hotspot for low carbon innovation. Imperial College London focuses on research and innovation at its White City campus, and the London Sustainable Development Commission has spoken of its vision for a clean tech cluster in this part of the capital. It could offer, they say, the “greatest concentration of green innovation anywhere outside the west coast of America”.
Julian Turner is chief executive officer of Westfield Sportscars, the company charged with developing the pods to become driverless vehicles. He sees the task as challenging and exciting in equal measure: “It is groundbreaking technology, so quick to move and incredibly hi-tech. Last week we ordered components for one of the vehicles and by this week they had already been superseded by a later version.”
His team is altering the design of the pods to render them compatible with road regulations, modifying things like lighting to make the vehicles Road Traffic Act-compliant. “We’re also adding in advanced sensory controls that can pick up when someone is walking nearby, when bikes are near or where other vehicles are close by, and monitor their trajectory,” said Turner. “We’ve already had in excess of 1,000 vehicle enquiries for the pods which is phenomenal considering that we only announced it two months ago.”
For Professor Nick Reed, academy director at the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory – which acts as the head of the GATEway consortium, the project is a chance for both members of the public and industry representatives to explore how automated vehicles might improve urban mobility. “If there is a positive reaction, the next step will be to find a genuinely viable use case where automated vehicles can play a significant role in providing commercial transport services. The capabilities of these vehicles will also expand as we learn more about their operation in all weathers and traffic conditions so their potential role in providing urban mobility is set to increase in the years to come.”
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