Reader response draft 3

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 in the research on Autonomous Vehicle(AV) such as 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 already has existed technology in Singapore such as Singapore Rail Lines, driverless buggies and autonomous shuttle buses. MOT has done various efforts on AV such as introducing a test course for AV on public roads within One-North under real traffic conditions. 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, LTA 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.

One impact MOT did not mention was how AV will impact the society when AV is fully implemented. According to MOT(2018), MOT did not consider the "what if" scenario of the public negative views towards AV that could lead to the failure of AV. This is supported based on Cheah (2017) "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 (2017) 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. This will cause public outrage as it is already difficult to own a car in Singapore. MOT could have done some form of statistical analysis before executing any form of AV movement in Singapore.

Another Impact MOT failed to discuss was the economic impact on AV in the future. MOT (2018) 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, AV could cause a shortage of job in the transportation and car industry. This point is further enforced by a case study by Tomita (2017) 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 (2018) 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.

Apart from impacts, MOT did not mention the setbacks AV had in Singapore. According to MOT(2018), MOT gave various examples of existing AV technology in Singapore such as the North-East and Downtown MRT lines, and LRT. However, MOT did not mention its failure in keeping its rail system reliable. This is supported by The Straits Times (2018)"Ms Tammy Tan, SBS Transit's senior vice-president of corporate communications, told The Straits Times that the train "developed a fault which affected train services on the NEL for about an hour" from about 7.30am." 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 Faris (2018) "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. (2018). Driverless vehicles: A vision for Singapore’s transport. Retrieved 2018, from https://www.mot.gov.sg/transport-matters/motoring/Detail/driverless-vehicles-a-vision-for-singapore-s-transport/

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

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

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

The Straits Times. (2018). North East Line hit by delays during morning rush hour due to faulty train at Little India. Retrieved April 11, 2018, from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/train-fault-causes-delays-on-north-east-line-during-morning-peak

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