Autonomous vehicles (AV), or self-driving vehicles, promise widely available, low-cost, clean, door-to-door transport for people and goods. Widespread use on Europe’s roads is anticipated by the 2030s and is expected to have numerous societal implications for equity, health, economy, and governance resulting in potential impacts on city development and design (from street to district- and regional development).

Self-driving vehicles have already been tested in technical demonstrations in various countries. But an overwhelming majority, 95%, share the same characteristics; R&D driven and heavily subsidised, they tend to operate on a short-term basis with no feasible business case or specific public service in mind. In order for AV to provide an actual service for existing end users, demonstrators are needed to test and show viable business cases for autonomous mobility and bridging the notorious gap between demonstrator and mainstream deployment. This requires public authorities to be better informed upfront of any potential AV application’s total technical and financial requirements.