IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2021 - 28

Commentary
Commentary
Autonomous Vehicles in Rural
Communities: Is It Feasible?
Diandra Prioleau
Department of Computer and Information
Science and Engineering, University of Florida,
Gainesville, FL 32611 USA
Priya Dames
Department of Political Science, University of
Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA
 Although much reseArch has been devoted
to the effects of autonomous vehicles (AVs) on
urban areas, little work has been dedicated to the
potential impacts of AVs in rural areas, especially
related to feasibility and accessibility [1]. Due to
the lack of reliable public transportation, automobiles
play a crucial role for rural residents to
commute for work, shopping, and other reasons.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
rural households have on average more vehicles
than urban households [2]. In 2015, the average
rural household spent about 13.7% of their income
on vehicle purchases, maintenance, and repairs
in comparison to 8.3% for urban households [2].
As the cost of vehicles is one of the top concerns
for many rural residents [5], there will be concerns
about the affordability of AVs in these areas as their
initial prices might be high [1]. Given the current
struggles with affording and maintaining vehicles
for rural residents, rural residents may not be able
to afford or maintain personal AVs, at least not in
the beginning. There is also a concern whether
rural communities will have access to funding to
build the necessary transportation infrastructure to
deploy AVs.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2021.3104408
Date of current version: 2 September 2021.
28
0278-0097/21©2021 IEEE
Scalability-Will automated buses
be next?
It can be assumed that as AVs are introduced at
a larger scale so that companies will begin to assess
their use and feasibility for automated buses. But
how will this impact rural communities? Current
public transportation in rural areas is often inadequate
due to the lack of appropriate infrastructure,
limited bus schedules and bus stops, lack of information
about bus schedules, and fares [3]. Alternative
transit models have been adopted [4]. However,
flaws still exist with these models due to scalability
issues, schedule disruptions, and denial of pickup if
the request is made after the schedule for the day or
time has already been finalized. For example, one
may be able to schedule a pickup time that was previously
unavailable to them if the automated bus can
alter its route impromptu. So, automated buses have
the potential to address the transportation issues in
rural areas, but solutions must be thoroughly vetted
for proper execution before deployment. However,
if the automated bus is not programmed to allow for
impromptu pickups, then the same issue will arise
as before, in which a rural resident may be denied
pickup if the request is not made further in advance.
Therefore, it is essential to assess the current transportation
issues in rural areas before deploying AVs
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine
Kiana Alikhademi and Juan E. Gilbert
Department of Computer and Information
Science and Engineering, University of Florida,
Gainesville, FL 32611 USA
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2021

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