Call for Evidence on The Future of Connected and Automated Mobility in the UK

Overview

Ministerial foreword by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel

Technology will drive radical changes within the transport sector over the next 10 years and beyond. We have the opportunity to shape these changes to have a profound positive impact for the environment, transport users and businesses.  

Within these changes, connected and automated mobility (CAM) is set to be a key disrupter of global transport over the coming two decades, enabling greener, safer, easier, and more productive journeys. And it is where many of the high value jobs of the future could be, in areas like artificial intelligence, machine learning, agile design, simulation, cyber security and fleet management.  

The UK has earned its place as a world leader in self-driving vehicle innovation. It is currently ranked second in the G7 for self-driving vehicle readiness, leading particularly on policy, legislation, and cyber security. We are also home to some of the most exciting automated mobility companies in the world, who are safely and responsibly setting the standard for global innovation in this space.   

The technology could deliver huge economic benefits, attracting international investment and reinforcing the UK’s place as a global science superpower. Indeed, the UK market alone could be worth as much as £42 billion by 2035, creating approximately 38,000 new jobs.      

With its status as a science superpower, the UK is in an excellent position to gain the benefits from these new technologies, and they can be part of our determination to Build Back Better from the Covid-19 pandemic.  

This Call for Evidence will enable us to gather evidence from the industry of where the UK can be globally competitive in these technologies, and the role Government could play to help ensure continued development, testing and deployment of safe and secure connected and automated mobility.  

Why your views matter

Background and context

Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) technologies will profoundly change the way people and goods are transported. They have the potential to: 

1. Improve safety on our roads, where 5 people are killed and 83 are seriously injured in Great Britain every day. 
2. Create the new, well-paying jobs of the future in agile vehicle design, coding, cyber security and fleet management; the 2020 Connected Places Catapult market forecast (link) estimates that by 2035, the sector will support 23,400 new jobs in CAV technology and a further 14,600 jobs in the supply chain – a total of 38,000 new jobs. 
3. Increase our productivity, recognising that the average person in England currently spends 212 hours travelling by private car, equivalent to almost six working weeks; CAM has the potential to give some or all of this time back, 
4. Reduce congestion on our roads, via a more-efficient use of road space; the time currently lost as a result of congestion on the Strategic Road Network costs the UK economy approximately £2 billion per year, and by 2040, this figure will reach £10 billion per year, according to DfT forecasts. CAM could improve traffic flow and give drivers productive time in their commute.  
5. Improve access to road transport for all, with the potential to enable more affordable services, especially in historically underprovided areas, and increase disabled and older people’s freedom to travel. 

Since 2015, Government has worked closely with industry and academia to harness the potential of connected and self-driving technologies. To date we have created one of the most welcoming regulatory environments for self-driving technology, as well as jointly investing £400m with industry into cutting-edge British innovation and establishing the £200m CAM Testbed UK ecosystem where companies around the world can test technologies safely. CCAV wants to understand how the CAM sector can help the nation build back better and greener as we recover from Covid, secure our reputation as a science superpower and encourage economic growth across the UK. 

The UK is continuing to push ahead with establishing a world-class regulatory safety and cyber security assurance process. The UK Code of Practice for testing automated vehicles on public roads is recognised as one of the most open in the world and the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 set out a framework for automated vehicle insurance. The Law Commissions’ review of UK legislation is exploring how regulation could be adapted to enable the safe deployment of CAM. And the CAVPASS project (Connected and Automated Vehicles: Process for Assuring Safety and Security) is developing the world’s first comprehensive safety and security assurance process for CAVs. 

It is now six years since the government’s last Call for Evidence with UK industry and academia on connected and automated mobility, and the sector has moved forward substantially in that time. In line with the government’s commitment to Build Back Better, we think now is the opportune moment to refresh our evidence base in this area, and understand from the field’s entrepreneurs, industry leaders and academics how the UK can best capture the benefits of these new technologies. 

CCAV is interested in hearing from organisations across the CAM sector; this includes interest in on vehicle and infrastructure technologies, knowledge and skills and from services that will help enable CAM and from services and future businesses that will be enabled by CAM delivery. 

Definitions & Explanations 

Connected and Automated Mobility – For CCAV, Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) captures our key interests and responsibilities in supporting the UK through the design, development, manufacturing, certification and deployment of connected and automated (self-driving) vehicles and the roles and services they may fulfil. 

We are, typically, interested in ground based, wheeled vehicles that are currently deployed with a human driver, and the technologies, skills and knowledge (including legislation, standards & certification) that will enable them to operate safely without human intervention.

CAM will be most relevant to the existing automotive industry and to future goods and passenger services, but will also impact on many other sectors, such as construction, mining, cyber security, defence and insurance. 

Net-Zero – The UK has set the world’s most ambitious climate change target into law, seeking to reduce emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels, taking the UK more than three-quarters of the way to reaching net zero by 2050. The publication of the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy and our ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution help set out the steps we need to take to meet these targets, including the shift to zero emission vehicles and increasing options for green transport. 

Levelling Up - The UK government is committed to levelling up across the whole of the UK, leaving no communities behind, particularly as we recover from Covid-19. Levelling up will involve regeneration, supporting individuals across the country into employment and improving transport and infrastructure. To achieve these goals, a number of powers will be decentralised to local partners across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and several investment programmes will be made available.  

Global Britain - Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, an independent Global Britain can take advantage of trade opportunities that come with the status of a fully sovereign trading nation. The Government aims to promote an open economy that permits the free flow of ideas and investment as well as goods, services and data – to drive innovation and growth.