Committee for Ballarat pushes for autonomous vehicle trial

The organisation will demonstrate a self-driving bus to its members and stakeholders in Ballarat on November 15.

The aim of the demonstration is to stimulate discussion and thinking on the city’s transport future. 

Committee for Ballarat chief executive Melanie Robertson says Australia is on the brink of a new era in transport, and Ballarat could be a leader in revolutionising the way people travel. 

Infrastructure Victoria concept designs of Sturt Street in an autonomous vehicle future have further highlighted Ballarat’s leadership potential. 

“We are big enough and small enough, we have the infrastructure required and the population base to do some real trials with autonomous vehicles,” Ms Robertson says. 

“The transport system is being disrupted significantly and we want to be a part of it and shape our future.”

WHAT IS AN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE?

University of Michigan mechanical engineering professor Huei Peng breaks autonomous vehicles into five levels. 

At level four and five the car itself handles normal driving and is responsible for safe responses in difficult situations. Level four vehicles are usually limited in some way, such as driving to a set speed not driving in heavy rain or snow or only driving in a specific location. 

A level five autonomous vehicle does not yet exist – it is when a self-driving car can operate safely and reliably anywhere, in any weather and at any speed. Lower levels involve human intervention in challenging circumstances and emergencies. 

Several systems work together to control a driverless car, including radar sensors dotted around the car that monitor the position of vehicles nearby and video cameras that detect traffic lights, read road signs and keep track of other vehicles and obstacles. 

Australia’s transport ministers have set a national goal of having regulation in place by 2020 to support the introduction of autonomous vehicles. 

Infrastructure Victoria has delivered a report to the government recommending investment will be required from both the public and private sectors to fully maximise the potential of automated and zero emissions vehicles.

The report released earlier this week advises up to $1.7 billion may be required to upgrade mobile networks, around $250 million for improved line markings on roads and at least $2.2 billion for energy network upgrades.

WHAT MIGHT IT LOOK LIKE IN BALLARAT

Ms Robertson wants to see a self-driving bus trialed in Ballarat within two years. 

“While the technologies are in their infancy, when they are market ready their implications will be profound. The technology is there to trial. We now need the infrastructure to change,” she said. 

“Shared electric vehicles promise to be cheaper, safer and more energy efficient than any existing modes of transport.

“We are likely to see lower car ownership, but more people that depend on cars; fewer fixed route and fixed schedule mass public transport systems and more flexible ‘micro’ public transport systems that offer adaptive routs and schedules and improved safety.” 

Autonomous technology company EasyMile will demonstrate its driverless shuttle in Ballarat on November 15. 

The electric vehicle carries up to 15 passengers and is designed to operate on fixed or on-demand routes on existing road ways with no additional infrastructure required. 

It has been deployed in 20 countries around the world, including on open roads and in mixed traffic in Stockholm, Sweden. 

Ms Robertson said organising the demonstration in Ballarat was about getting people to look, touch, feel n autonomous vehicle and imagine its future.

“To talk about it is one thing, but to actually sit in it, see it and hear about the technology, hopefully that will trigger thought about how something like this might fit in our city.

“It might be for example very short term to have a commuter autonomous shuttle bus that went from Ballarat Train Station to the hospital precinct to the lake and it is on a continuous five minute run. Or is it to Sovereign Hill and Federation University during peak hours from the train station?

“It is a broad vision. The first step is just to get people identifying with the technology, comfortable with what is coming, the ability to experience, and then we will continue to have further discussions. But we have certainly advocated heavily to the current government and also to the opposition that we do want this technology in Ballarat and we want to be the first trial site for autonomous vehicles in Victoria.”

PUBLIC TRANSPORT 

Committee for Ballarat chairperson Nick Beale said driverless shuttle buses could be a solution to Ballarat’s internal public transport challenges. 

“The thought of putting in trams or some sort of internal rail system has been proven overseas to be something of the past for cities of this size,” he said. 

“As an example, Sydney has recently introduced the B-Line service for the north shore of Sydney where there are no trains. This has been a stunning success. While not an autonomous vehicle at this point, the infrastructure of a separate lane means traffic flow for buses is very quick from far out of Sydney straight into the CBD.

“For Ballarat, the concept of using buses and autonomous vehicles is something we are not used to, however as we grow over the next 30 years to some 250,000 people we are going to need a system that can do this. Committee for Ballarat would be looking for the design of extra lanes where a bus system could be easily introduced.”

Mr Beale described the transition to autonomous vehicles as a three tier process – introducing designated bus lanes, encouraging behaviour change to improve public transport use, and helping users become comfortable with the idea of getting into an autonomous vehicle.

CHANGING BEHAVIOUR

Public Transport Users Association Ballarat branch convenor Ben Lever says autonomous buses should be considered as a long term public transport solution.

But he says Ballarat’s existing bus service should be improved now to encourage more public transport use in the short term. 

“What we really need to get is a more frequent service that runs more often so people have more choice when to travel and connections between busses and trains and buses and buses are simpler. Public transport needs to be as convenient as possible and comparable to car travel to be attractive,” he said. 

“One of the main issues is the buses are quite slow and they don’t run very frequently which means you need to plan ahead and can’t walk out of a shop or work and know there will be a bus there like a tram in Melbourne for example.”

The Public Transport Users Association launched a proposal suggesting reform of Ballarat’s bus network early in October. 

READ MORE Bold plan to completely overhaul Ballarat’s bus network

Mr Lever said bus priority in traffic signals would improve the speed, reliability and punctuality of bus travel and ensure it is more consistent, hence encouraging less car dependence. 

It is small changes like this that may prepare Ballarat for an improved public transport focus, with a potentially autonomous future, to fall inline with Committee for Ballarat visions of a car free or reduced car CBD. 

Autonomous vehicles could also support and promote active travel like walking and cycling, according to University of Queensland researchers, if their access to cities is restricted and their use is pooled. 

Ms Robertson said driverless public shuttles would be likely to reduce the need for cars to park in the CBD.

Nottingham Trent University senior lecturer John Disney the development of autonomous electric minibuses could be a ‘game changer’ in the viability of free public transport. 

“Public transit systems, as we know them today, would struggle to deliver a sustainable free service. But there’s a real possibility that the autonomous vehicles of tomorrow could do just that,” he said. 

It is widely known the biggest cost of mass public transport systems is the driver. 

Ms Robertson said a free system operating on a micro grid could provide people of all socioeconomic levels with better access to connectivity. 

Infrastructure Victoria reimagined Sturt Street in two scenarios in its advice on automated and zero emissions vehicles infrastructure report.  

Both set in 2046, the concept designs reveal what Sturt Street may look like with a mix of both driverless cars and human drivers on the roads roads. The second scenario presents 100 per cent driverless vehicles that are also shared and zero emissions. 

Infrastructure Victoria project director Dr Allison Stewart said some of the changes - like no longer needing petrol stations, or being able to remove lanes of traffic due to less cars being on the road - could be really exciting for regional centres like Ballarat.

To many, thinking about driverless vehicles now may seem like a science fiction future. But for Ms Robertson, it is one that could place Ballarat as a leader in alternative transport adoption. 

“I think we have a unique environment here in Ballarat that we don’t want dominated by vehicles. Our focus now is about how do we change that mindset,” she said.