Assessing the Spatial Implications of Autonomous Vehicles as Feeders to Railway Stations in Suburban Melbourne

Using results from a design-research studio analysing rail station access in Melbourne, this article considers how differing Autonomous Vehicle (AV) deployment models might fit into a suburban landscape. The results challenge assumptions about AV deployment. If AVs are low occupancy, peak demands may require station carparks to be used entirely as pick-up/drop off zones. This suggests little opportunity to re-purpose car parks for non-transport uses. Further, with AVs uncoupling station demand from existing feeder bus and park-and-ride provision, a re-distribution of demand along rail corridors may occur. The work has broad applicability to the policy challenges of an AV future.