How governments influence autonomous vehicle (AV) innovation

Abstract

While autonomous vehicle (AV) technology is forecast to widely disrupt transport systems, governments’ roles in influencing innovation have not been examined holistically. This empirical study analyses the perceptions of 34 professionals from government and non-government actors in the U.K. and Australian contexts. Our findings identify three main categories of government roles: regulator, facilitator and participator and illustrate how different policy mechanisms align within this framework to shape AV innovation. The paper discusses the implications of the interrelationships between these roles within each context, as well as how governments can apply them to pursue transport policy goals. This research provides an important contribution to understanding how local policy environments around the world might shape the development and eventual implementation of AV technologies.