Why does the answer to this question matter? Experts are divided on whether autonomous cars will add to the current congestion or relieve it. And the answer might be different with each passing year that autonomous cars gain acceptance on the road and become more prevalent. While autonomous cars can safely drive closer to the car ahead and therefore provide more room on the road, that extra space could be taken up if autonomy encourages people to be on the road more often or opt to use private cars over mass transit.
New Oliver Wyman research shows that highway congestion in the United States will be on the rise through 2045 — particularly in and around large metro areas. Some of this stems from a rise in freight volume because of e-commerce and the truck traffic associated with that. Here is one area where autonomous trucks could lead to more vehicles on the road as companies will no longer have the problem of finding drivers. Autonomy also is likely to bring down trucking costs and ultimately cargo rates, which could increase shipments.
Other factors are contributing to new traffic headaches, including population increases in suburban America and insufficient spending on highway expansions and repairs. But ridesharing services could soon make car ownership itself obsolete. If it becomes as easy to call a rideshare as driving yourself or letting your own car drive you, then many experts think it’s possible that people will choose not to take on the extra headaches of owning a car.