Abstract

This paper investigates why material throughput remains high in the UK automotive industry when there are opportunities for material efficiency improvements. Informed by socio-technical studies of automobility, the paper emphasises the importance of recognising how decisions regarding material use are always shaped by more than simply cost considerations. Drawing on industry interviews, six interconnected socio-technical factors are identified that guide the vehicle design and manufacturing process. These are: (1) customer preferences; (2) market positioning; (3) techno-economic feasibility; (4) supply chain feasibility; (5) regulation and (6) organisational attributes. These factors can provide insights into the current operating context of the UK automotive industry and help explain why the average material intensity of vehicles and vehicle throughput are increasing. Overall, the paper shows that the efficiency of material use in the UK automotive industry is the outcome of complex and advanced design and manufacturing processes. Understanding these processes and the factors that guide them can potentially increase the likelihood of the automotive industry adopting material efficiency initiatives. S. Cooper is supported by a UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) PhD studentship (reference EP/L504920/1). Professor J.M. Allwood and Dr B.J. Doody by grant number EP/N02351X/1. None of the funding sources were involved with conducting the research.

Abstract

It is hoped that Automated Driving (AD) will make alternatives to the private car more attractive and facilitate the transition to sustainable transport. However, this expectation may underestimate both the resistance of private automobility and the unintended consequences of automated driving. Whether AD will contribute to sustainable mobility depends largely on its implementation and how its risks are prevented. This paper provides empirical insights into the design of acceptable forms of AD by investigating specific use cases with respect to the requirements of different mobility configurations. We pay special attention to people who travel with children. Our use cases comprise three probable types, covering the spectrum from demand-responsive transport (DRT) to private vehicles. Our results include the identification of mobility configurations and an analysis of AD use cases considering several empirically derived criteria: improved accessibility, ease of daily life and well-being, and improvement of the traffic situation and the transport system. Our analysis is based on a qualitative study in the Berlin area, Germany. The discussion focuses on the usefulness of AD against the background of different user perspectives, sustainability, and societal requirements, as well as an evaluation of AD in terms of its acceptability. We conclude that automated mobility use cases should meet the requirements of different mobility configurations to promote the transformation from private to shared automobility and, eventually, less automobility overall. Document type: Article

Abstract

With the rise of privatized automobility and the increase of traffic jams, new sociotechnical systems have emerged that aim at traffic control. Radio traffic information has been a key element in these systems. Through a qualitative analysis of historical radio broadcasts of the largest Dutch news station between 1960 and 2000, this article explores the changing format and content of traffic information updates. I will show how the rather formal, detailed, and paternalistic narratives of the traffic reports in the 1960s gave way to more informal, witty, yet flow-controlling traffic information discourse in later decades. I will explain the dynamics involved by drawing on mobility and media studies and by developing two distinct notions of flow, one of which builds conceptually on Raymond Williams’s work on mobile privatization, the other is grounded in the field of traffic management. In so doing, this article aims to contribute to a better understanding of the role of public radio broadcasts in our world of privatized automobility.

Abstract

With the rise of privatized automobility and the increase of traffic jams, new sociotechnical systems have emerged that aim at traffic control. Radio traffic information has been a key element in these systems. Through a qualitative analysis of historical radio broadcasts of the largest Dutch news station between 1960 and 2000, this article explores the changing format and content of traffic information updates. I will show how the rather formal, detailed, and paternalistic narratives of the traffic reports in the 1960s gave way to more informal, witty, yet flow-controlling traffic information discourse in later decades. I will explain the dynamics involved by drawing on mobility and media studies and by developing two distinct notions of flow, one of which builds conceptually on Raymond Williams’s work on mobile privatization, the other is grounded in the field of traffic management. In so doing, this article aims to contribute to a better understanding of the role of public radio broadcasts in our world of privatized automobility.