The EU expects to have an autonomous driving transportation system by 2030.

Speaking at the City Lab conference in Slovenia this week, the European Transport Commission said it expects the EU region to have a truly autonomous society by 2030.

　　This is an important part of the EU's "Vision Zero" initiative, which aims to reduce the number of deaths in traffic accidents to zero with the help of technology.

　　Violeta Bulc, the European Commission's transport commissioner, said: "We are confident that by 2030 we will have a new generation of fully autonomous cars. This year, major car manufacturers have already begun to make 15 new safety and automation-related features standard for all car types and classes."

　　It is reported that starting this year, new cars produced in the European Union must be equipped with standard features including lane keeping technology, driver distraction sensors, external sensors, intelligent speed assistance and a "black box" recorder that can be used to help determine the cause of an accident.

　　And some of them could help make cars more autonomous.

　　According to the timetable published this time, the EU plans to achieve low-speed autonomous driving in urban areas by 2020; to achieve the "Internet of Vehicles" model in which all new cars are equipped with communication functions by 2022; and to enter a society with fully autonomous driving as the standard by 2030. In order to achieve the unification of member states' safety standards, the European Commission will begin to formulate relevant guidelines in 2018, and will also formulate ethical guidelines for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) for autonomous vehicles. In addition, it will provide financial assistance for the necessary infrastructure.

　　By 2025, the EU's automotive and motor industries are expected to generate a market of more than 800 billion euros. As countries accelerate their efforts to occupy the autonomous driving market, the EU has joined forces to promote autonomous driving and launched the goal of "making Europe a world leader in fully autonomous driving." As early as last year, the EU officially launched an automated driving project called "AUTOPILOT" to achieve safer highly automated driving using smart connected devices and the Internet of Things.

　　The goal is to make Europe a world leader in fully automated driving. "The European Commission made the above explanation and called on member states and automakers to formulate common rules to ensure safety and clarify accident responsibilities as soon as possible, so as to strive to formulate regional standards before international rules are introduced and take the lead in the new generation of industries. It is estimated that with the transition to an automated driving society, the EU's automotive and motor industries will generate a market of more than 800 billion euros by 2025.

　　Over the past four years as commissioner, Bourque has overseen and encouraged some €230 billion in investments into European transport initiatives, much of it in public transport, with rail alone accounting for 70%, while a large amount of private sector investment has been in autonomous driving technology.

　　However, the EU region is working hard to create an integrated transport system that combines private and public transport.

　　"Autonomous driving is not just about cars," Bourque said. "It's also about drones, ships, trains, airplanes, and our dream is that we combine all of these things together."

　　Essentially, this is a European-wide Mobility as a Service (MaaS) project.

　　But her vision has not really been realized in North America.

　　This vision sees the transportation system as a service that includes many integrated components, where users can start a journey involving multiple modes of transportation through a digital interface. For example, someone might use a small ride-sharing tool to take a tram, which might then take them to a larger train station. After taking a train close to their final destination, the traveler might also take a bus or other ride-sharing tool to their final destination.

　　This system includes seamless integration of ticketing and transfers.

　　Bourque said many, if not all, systems in the future will include autonomous driving technology, and likely also vehicles such as airplanes.

　　The core of this vision is to get rid of carbon emissions: by 2050, the EU will completely switch to electric or other non-polluting types of engines. This is also the second step of Burke's "Zero Vision" strategy: zero pollution. Burke said that transportation is currently the second largest source of pollution in Europe, and the entire transportation industry, including commercial shipping, accounts for one-third of all pollution.

　　Previously, the European Union passed a proposal calling for a 20% reduction in carbon emissions from cars and vans by 2025 compared to 2021 levels, and a 45% reduction by 2030. The EU aims to achieve a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. To this end, the European Commission introduced all automakers into the credit system, rewarded automakers that actively launched electric vehicles, and imposed fines on automakers that exceeded carbon emissions. Emission targets will be achieved by automakers selling more low-emission vehicles. The EU's goal of achieving zero emissions by 2050 will be an investment in zero-emission vehicles and smart infrastructure, as well as increased adoption of alternative fuels.

　　Of course, Burke himself knows that this transformation will not come in a short period of time, but will be a long process.

　　“We can’t accomplish anything without a strong ecosystem,” Bourque said.

　　But Bourque said that ultimately, the focus of mobile services is not on technology or transportation, but on people.

　　"Let's not get stuck in a small space," Bourque said. "The biggest story is about people. This is not about computers, cars, roads or self-driving cars. This is about people."