Completed Engineering Clean Energy

A radical mode SHIFT away from cars to Integrated Mobility-as-a-Service enabled by autonomous pods

Funder InnovateUK (part of UKRI)
Recipient organisation Oxa Autonomy LTD
Funding £1.6M
Period Apr 2018 — Oct 2020

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

Ten families in a London borough will swap their private cars for a subscription to a fleet of self-driving pods, as part of a trial to test whether autonomous vehicles can break the city’s dependence on car ownership. The project, called Shift, brings together vehicle designers, software developers, and Transport for London to tackle a stubborn problem: private cars remain the default for many journeys, even in cities with good public transport. Congestion and emissions persist because car ownership is convenient and familiar. Shift tests whether a low-cost, on-demand pod service—integrated with buses and trains—can offer a genuinely better alternative. If the trial succeeds, the implications extend beyond the ten participating households. The project will share real-world data with the city and use simulations to model how predictive autonomous pods could reshape traffic flow, reduce congestion, and shift travel patterns at scale. The feedback from users will directly inform the design of a purpose-built city pod by Gordon Murray Design, potentially creating a template for other urban areas. This is a practical demonstration, not fundamental science. Its value lies in showing whether the technology, business model, and public appetite align to make integrated mobility-as-a-service a viable replacement for the private car.

View original technical description
"_Shift -_ a collaboration between aiPod, Oxbotica, Transport for London, Gordon Murray Design, Innogy, Bosch and Imperial College, and seeks to catalyse a radical mode _shift_ from cars to integrated mobility as a service (MaaS) using autonomous pods. aiPod proposes a city-friendly urban mobility service based on fleets of small self-driving pods, that are safe, predictive, convenient, comfortable, inexpensive, road efficient, zero emission, 100% renewable energy, public transport integrated and city friendly. _Shift_ will trial a commercial city-friendly, subscription-based, MaaS offering, based on SAE Level 4 small self-driving pods, in a London Borough, delivering a safe, zero emissions solution, focused on improving transport options and utility, reducing vehicle ownership and congestion, encouraging city-friendly transport outcomes. The project will involve 10 Connected Autonomous Vehicles and 10 Families who will have access to a low cost MaaS subscription - similar to an autonomous car club that is integrated with London public transport. The trial will explicitly share data with the city and use simulation to model the impact of predictive autonomous pods on city transport, congestion and mode-shift away from car ownership. The users experience and feedback will then inform the design of the optimal citizen and city centric pod by iconic British vehicle designer - Gordon Murray Design."

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Original classification

Collaborative R&D

Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.