Over the lifetime of the Strategy emerging technologies will take hold and new innovations will emerge. These have the potential to transform the way we think about transport and mobility generally. We see the opportunity to shape this change and will be proactive in trialling and testing emerging and new technologies in the transport sector.
Transport innovations driven by exploiting new technology that are already with us in some form include:
- A move away from vehicles powered by the internal combustion engine
- Targeted road-user charging
- Sophisticated navigation technology
- Shared car and bikes
- Connected and autonomous vehicles, and ‘Mobility as a Service’: a change in how travel is consumed typically enabled by apps and mobile technology, enabling the rise in ride hailing services for example.
All of the above need to be considered carefully. For example mobile navigation systems reduce journey times for drivers, but can also lead to excessive motor traffic on residential streets and while ‘autonomous’ vehicles have the potential to improve the capacity, safety and efficiency of the road network, they could also perpetuate and exacerbate existing problems such as congestion and traffic dominance. When assessing the appropriateness of these innovations for Lambeth, we will consider whether they meet the objectives set out in this Strategy.
In order to benefit from the opportunities that new technologies offer in the transport field, we need to secure investment in improved digital connectivity across the borough. Our emerging Digital Strategy sets out our key priorities in this respect. Improved digital connectivity has an important role to play in reducing the need to travel by enabling us to lead more flexible and adaptable lifestyles, using fewer physical resources and benefiting the environment.