Reader response draft 2

In the Singapore Ministry of Transport (MOT) website(2018) on Driverless Vehicles: A Vision for Singapore’s Transport, MOT states that it has been investing on the research on Autonomous Vehicle(AV). It started with the Committee on Autonomous Road Transport for Singapore (CARTS), which consists of renowned specialists that forge the strategic direction for AV. MOT also mentions that it has already had existing AV technology in Singapore in a form of Singapore Rail Lines, driverless buggies and autonomous shuttle bus. MOT has had also done various efforts on AV such as introducing a test course for AV on public roads within One-North under real traffic condition. Furthermore, MOT envisions AV to be the highlight of town-planning by providing connectivity between neighborhoods. In the MOT website, LTA further suggested that by enabling car-sharing, AV could potentially become a common transport which could scale down the number of vehicles on the road by a third. Which, they believe AV will forge a future of us depend on it.

Although the MOT mentions various benefits of AV, the website fails to discuss the impacts of AV and the reliability of AV using present technology.

First of all, MOT did not mention how AV will impact the society when AV is fully implemented. Based on the MOT Singapore – Driverless vehicles: A vision for Singapore’s transport. (2018), the benefits of AV were based on an assumption of positive reaction from the public. In which, will lead to the failure of AV. This is further supported based on a website from Channel News Asia, Cheah, L. (2017, December 01) "If cities do not achieve the targeted shifts to public transport use, despite the introduction of this new travel mode, the postulated benefits may not be fully realized." This meant that MOT vision on AV will not be realized without the public support. Cheah, L. (2017, December 01) further stated, "And for car owners, many of whom have families to ferry around, will it be easy enough to hail a robo-taxi, such that they give up their cars?" This further implies that MOT vision will increase the difficulty for the public to own a private car. MOT could have done some form of statistical analysis before executing any form of AV movement in Singapore.

Secondly, MOT failed to discuss the economic impact on AV in the future. Based on the MOT Singapore – Driverless vehicles: A vision for Singapore’s transport. (2018), MOT mention they had planned for the public to commute daily by AV rather than using a human operator in the future. This shows that MOT did not elaborate that AV could have caused an economic distress in which will lead to a shortage of job in the transportation and car industry. This point is further enforced by a case study by Hideaki, T. (2017, December 17) as he states, "transportation companies suffering from a serious labor shortage – such as long-haul truck operators and home delivery service providers – will introduce autonomous driving services, thereby enabling them to change their business models drastically." Additionally, Nesnow, G. (2018, February 09) state a similar point "The auto insurance industry as we know it will go away (as will the significant investing power of the major players of this industry). Most car companies will go out of business, as will most of their enormous supplier networks." what MOT should have done is to not go full scale with the AV movement until the economic impact is solved.

Lastly, MOT did not mention the setback AV had in Singapore. Based on MOT Singapore – Driverless vehicles: A vision for Singapore’s transport. (2018), MOT gave various examples of existing AV technology in Singapore. One of them was the North-East and Downtown MRT lines, and LRT. However, MOT did not mention its failure on keeping it rail system reliable. This is supported by a website on Channel news Asia, MRT collision at Joo Koon station: A timeline of events. (2017, November 16) states, "6.30pm: LTA and SMRT held a press conference and explained how a signaling software glitch caused the accident." Additionally, another example of AV technology in Singapore given by MOT was the One-North public road test. Same goes to public road test, the AV was involved in an accident. This is quoted by Mohktar, F. (2018, July 05) "In Singapore, there has been at least one known accident at one-north involving a lorry and a nuTonomy driverless taxi in October 2016. This forced a short suspension of the trial." If MOT had disclosed AV safety issue to the public beforehand, it could have minimized the damage caused by AV.

In conclusion, MOT omitted significant information on AV to win public opinion on AV. However, AV might find its place in a distant future when the problems are solved.

Reference :

MOT Singapore – Driverless vehicles: A vision for Singapore’s transport. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.mot.gov.sg/transport-matters/motoring/Detail/driverless-vehicles-a-vision-for-singapore-s-transport/)

Nesnow, G. (2018, February 09). 73 Mind-Blowing Implications of a Driverless Future. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@DonotInnovate/73-mind-blowing-implications-of-a-driverless-future-58d23d1f338d

Hideaki, T. (2017, December 17). Potential economic and social effects of driverless cars. Retrieved from https://voxeu.org/article/potential-economic-and-social-effects-driverless-cars

MRT collision at Joo Koon station: A timeline of events. (2017, November 16). Retrieved from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/mrt-collision-at-joo-koon-station-a-timeline-of-events-9407824

Cheah, L. (2017, December 01). Commentary: Driverless vehicles can reshape Singapore, but do consider the human elements. Retrieved from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/commentary-driverless-vehicles-reshape-singapore-smart-nation-9451258

Mohktar, F. (2018, July 05). The Future of Work: No more bad drivers? Making self-driving cars smarter than humans. Retrieved from https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/future-work-no-more-bad-drivers-making-self-driving-cars-smarter-humans