The study, Potential Impact of Self-Driving Vehicles on Household Vehicle Demand and Usage has been released by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, sponsored by the University of Michigan Sustainable Worldwide Transportation. The study is by Brandon Schoettle and Michael Sivak.

As noted in the abstract, the report presents an analysis of the potential for reduced vehicle ownership within households based on sharing of completely self-driving vehicles that employ a “return-to-home” mode, acting as a form of shared family or household vehicle. An examination of the latest U.S. National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) data shows a general lack of trip overlap between drivers within a majority of households, opening up the possibility for a significant reduction in average vehicle ownership per household based on vehicle sharing.

Click here to read an abstract of the study. Please contact Michael Sivak at sivak@umich.edu for a copy of the full report.