A recent study conducted by a University of Michigan researcher suggests that teledriving could provide similar benefits to driverless taxis and ride-hailing vehicles, even if the public is not yet ready for those options.
With a higher number of cars on the road, fewer drivers, and reduced riderless miles, ride-sharing services might become more cost-effective and efficient.
Teledriving commonly involves a driver controlling a vehicle while facing a display of video feeds from the car’s cameras, along with sensors and augmented reality technology. After dropping off a passenger, the driver can disconnect from that vehicle and connect to any other available vehicle in a specific area. Several private companies offering teledriving services are currently operating, with examples including Halo.Car and Vay in Las Vegas.
According to research led by Saif Benjaafar, a U-M professor of industrial and operations engineering, one of the key benefits of teledriving is that drivers are not required to be physically present with the vehicles. This means they can efficiently cater to areas of high demand without having to drive from low-demand areas.
Teledriving has the potential to eliminate what ride-hailing services describe as the ‘wild goose chase’ scenario. In instances where there is a shortage of vehicles, cars may need to be sent to customers located far away, even if it’s not the most efficient match between rider and driver.
“Teledriving allows you to get away with far fewer drivers than vehicles without impacting the quality of service because you can still leverage the excess vehicles to get quickly to customers – a reduction of 30% to 40% in some of the test cases we considered,” said Benjaafar, who specializes in supply chains and logistics.
“There’s an opportunity to significantly increase how busy the drivers are. One of the challenges for ride services has always been having drivers who are sitting idle. Quite a bit of that inefficiency can be eliminated.”
The rideshare company would bear the burden of vehicle ownership, cost, and risk, thereby benefiting the remaining drivers. According to the researchers, teledriving could increase labor participation by turning driving into a desk job.
Optimistically, the team believes that separating drivers and riders could enhance the safety of both parties, especially women who have been disproportionately affected by in-vehicle assault and other criminal behavior. However, teledriving systems should also be cautious about preventing reckless driving in an environment that resembles a video game.
Through computer modeling that takes into account supply, demand, and road congestion across time and space, researchers have demonstrated that having more vehicles available than drivers can decrease wait times during peak demand, even with fewer drivers. This is because the probability of a driver searching in vain is reduced.
“This research can be applied to the world/community by improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of ride-hailing and other on-demand transportation services,” said Xiaotang Yang, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
“By using teledriving, platforms can potentially operate with fewer drivers while maintaining or even improving service quality, which can lower operational costs and make these services more accessible. Additionally, this approach can help reduce traffic congestion and waiting times, leading to a better overall experience for users.”
Benjaafar’s thorough investigation into the advantages and efficiencies of teledriving coincides with the stagnation of efforts to popularize autonomous ride services for various reasons. Safety is a primary concern, and a continuous flow of news articles reporting accidents involving driverless vehicles only amplifies these concerns.
“Full autonomy may take longer to become a reality,” Benjaafar said. “In the meantime, there are these technologies that can serve as a bridge toward full autonomy, including putting the human driver back into the loop.”
Journal reference:
Saif Benjaafar, Zicheng Wang, Xiaotang Yang. Human in the Loop Automation: Ride-Hailing with Remote (Tele-)Drivers. Management Science, 2024. DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2022.01687
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