Self-Driving Vehicles, Robo-Taxis, and the Urban Mobility Revolution

The Boston Consulting Group and the World Economic Forum have been collab- orating on a project dedicated to shaping new urban mobility with self-driving vehicles. The early stages of this project involved substantial research with consum- ers, urban officials, and policymakers worldwide. Their opinions and views form the basis of this report.

The qualitative research—which encom- passed focus groups with a total of 56 participants in Berlin, London, and Singa- pore—was designed to uncover unprompted attitudes, attractions, and concerns related to SDVs and to use the findings to inform the quantitative research. The survey—the largest to date dedicated to SDVs—involved 5,500 consumers in 27 cities in ten coun- tries: China, France, Germany, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, and the US.

We also considered urban priorities and challenges and the potential role of SDVs and related mobility models, discussing these topics with 25 policymakers, including mayors, heads of traffic departments, and members of traffic innovation teams in 12 cities: Amsterdam, Dubai, Düsseldorf, Gothenburg, Graz, Helsinki, Miami, Milton Keynes, New York, Pittsburgh, Singapore, and Toronto.