Autonomous Vehicle Implementation Predictions: Implications for Transport Planning
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
10
Ownership and Operating Costs
Autonomous vehicles require various equipment and services summarized in the box below.
Since failures could be deadly, autonomous vehicles will need robust and redundant
components, installed and maintained by specialists, increasing maintenance costs. Current
advanced driver assistance system sensors (cameras, radar and ultrasound) approximately
double minor collision damage costs, typically adding $3,000 to a repair bill (AAA 2018),
suggesting that autonomous vehicles will increase vehicle repair costs. Vehicle owners will
probably need to subscribe to frequent software update and navigation mapping services.
Currently, a set of optional vehicle accessories, such as remote starting, adaptive cruise control,
active lane assist and safety cameras, typically cost several thousand dollars, and subscriptions
to navigation and security services, such as OnStar and TomTom, cost $150-750 annually.
Exhibit 4 Autonomous Vehicle Equipment and Service Requirements
Shared Autonomous Vehicles
Sensors (optical, infrared, radar, laser, etc.).
Automated controls (steering, braking, signals, etc.)
Software, servers and power supplies.
Short range vehicle-to-vehicle communication
networks, plus Internet access for maps, software
upgrades and road reports.
Software and navigation map update subscriptions.
Critical component maintenance, repair and testing.
Dispatching and fleet management.
Business administration and insurance.
Business profits.
Security.
Frequent cleaning and repairs.
Delays and empty vehicle-miles for passenger
loading.
Autonomous vehicles, particularly those that are shared, will incur additional costs.
Some experts predict that electric autonomous vehicle will costs less than 5₵ per mile to
operate (ignoring all fixed costs), but this is probably an underestimate. Vehicle batteries must
be replaced approximately every 100,000 miles, which currently costs $3,000-15,000, or 3-10₵
per vehicle-mile. This may decline with production innovations, but probably not much since
future vehicles will require increasingly sophisticated batteries to maximize performance.
Electric vehicles currently pay no fuel taxes; cost-recovery road-user fees would add 5-10¢ per
vehicle-mile. Incorporating these factors increases electric vehicle operating costs to 10-25₵ per
mile, similar to fossil fuel vehicles.
What are Efficient Road User Fees?
Efficient road user fees recover roadway costs, with additional charges for congestion, crash and
pollution damages imposed on others. Government roadway expenditures total about $250 billion
annually which serves about 3,200 billion vehicle-miles, which averages about 8₵ per mile (FHWA 2016);
optimal fees are somewhat lower fees for automobiles and higher for heavy vehicles which impose
greater roadway costs. Under urban-peak conditions, decongested fees of 5-25₵ per mile are typically
required to reduce traffic volumes to roadway capacity. In addition, any electric vehicle emission fees
should be distance-based so drivers pay according to the amount they drive and the costs they impose.