Vehicle automation is on dual paths of entrenching private car ownership while simultaneously enhancing transportation services that would make driving unnecessary. Future impacts are uncertain.
The End of Driving challenges the assumption that self-driving cars will by themselves reduce traffic congestion and crashes. Evolving vehicle automation will create safer, more convenient vehicles, yet continued reliance on private ownership will increase traffic volume. The authors explore psychological factors sustaining private vehicle use and the challenges of mixed-driver roads, examining why shared robotaxis face behavioral, political, and policy hurdles that will impede mass adoption, despite substantial public benefit.
This updated edition examines real-world deployments through 2025 and introduces concepts such as zero car-ownership communities, robotaxi pickup and drop-off orchestration, and urban spaces redesigned around greater mode choices for physical access rather than parking. The book compares privately owned automated cars against shared, on-demand driverless vehicles, using new data to show which model best serves cities.
Rather than predicting timelines, the authors use backcasting to map paths toward preferred mobility futures. They propose micro-subsidies, flexible transit integration, and regulatory frameworks to guide automation toward all three pillars of sustainability: ecology, economy, and equity. Shared, automated mobility is achievable and desirable but requires the deliberate actions described in this book.
1. Introduction - p. xlvii 2. Part I. Contexts - p. P1 3. Chapter 1. Language for automated driving - p. 3 4. Chapter 2. Hype, disillusionment, and reset - p. 19 5. Chapter 3. The broad context of change - p. 33 6. Chapter 4. Behavioral economics, automated driving, and vehicle ownership - p. 59 7. Chapter 5. A challenging transition: two competing markets - p. 83 8. Part II. Problems - p. P2 9. Chapter 6. The road ahead wherever private ownership thrives - p. 115 10. Chapter 7. Barriers to shared use of vehicles - p. 137 11. Chapter 8. Matters of scale - p. 155 12. Chapter 9. Surviving mixed traffic - p. 193 13. Part III. Solutions - p. P3 14. Chapter 10. Backcasting: Steps to achieve desired futures - p. 207 15. Chapter 11. Microtransit rising - p. 223 16. Chapter 12. Nudge ride-buying with microsubsidies - p. 241 17. Chapter 13. Automated driving and transit-oriented development - p. 259 18. Chapter 14. The path to zero car-ownership communities - p. 275 19. Chapter 15. Conclusion and recommendations - p. 299 20. Glossary - p. 315 21. References - p. 325 22. Index - p. 341
Vehicle automation is on dual paths of entrenching private car ownership while simultaneously enhancing transportation services that would make driving unnecessary. Future impacts are uncertain.
The End of Driving challenges the assumption that self-driving cars will by themselves reduce traffic congestion and crashes. Evolving vehicle automation will create safer, more convenient vehicles, yet continued reliance on private ownership will increase traffic volume. The authors explore psychological factors sustaining private vehicle use and the challenges of mixed-driver roads, examining why shared robotaxis face behavioral, political, and policy hurdles that will impede mass adoption, despite substantial public benefit.
This updated edition examines real-world deployments through 2025 and introduces concepts such as zero car-ownership communities, robotaxi pickup and drop-off orchestration, and urban spaces redesigned around greater mode choices for physical access rather than parking. The book compares privately owned automated cars against shared, on-demand driverless vehicles, using new data to show which model best serves cities.
Rather than predicting timelines, the authors use backcasting to map paths toward preferred mobility futures. They propose micro-subsidies, flexible transit integration, and regulatory frameworks to guide automation toward all three pillars of sustainability: ecology, economy, and equity. Shared, automated mobility is achievable and desirable but requires the deliberate actions described in this book.
1. Introduction - p. xlvii 2. Part I. Contexts - p. P1 3. Chapter 1. Language for automated driving - p. 3 4. Chapter 2. Hype, disillusionment, and reset - p. 19 5. Chapter 3. The broad context of change - p. 33 6. Chapter 4. Behavioral economics, automated driving, and vehicle ownership - p. 59 7. Chapter 5. A challenging transition: two competing markets - p. 83 8. Part II. Problems - p. P2 9. Chapter 6. The road ahead wherever private ownership thrives - p. 115 10. Chapter 7. Barriers to shared use of vehicles - p. 137 11. Chapter 8. Matters of scale - p. 155 12. Chapter 9. Surviving mixed traffic - p. 193 13. Part III. Solutions - p. P3 14. Chapter 10. Backcasting: Steps to achieve desired futures - p. 207 15. Chapter 11. Microtransit rising - p. 223 16. Chapter 12. Nudge ride-buying with microsubsidies - p. 241 17. Chapter 13. Automated driving and transit-oriented development - p. 259 18. Chapter 14. The path to zero car-ownership communities - p. 275 19. Chapter 15. Conclusion and recommendations - p. 299 20. Glossary - p. 315 21. References - p. 325 22. Index - p. 341
