Vehicle Prototype

A new study by Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Transportation has revealed that driverless cabs could ease traffic congestion in major cities.

The study, which was conducted by considering data from Lisbon, Portugal, noted that increased use of ‘taxibots’ may reduce the number of cars that are needed to perform similar number of journeys a day by 90%.

The latest findings comes after various reports claiming that Google and ride-sharing service Uber are working on technology to develop driverless taxis.

"Replacing personal cars with self-driving cabs will also free valuable real estate that is used for public parking at present."

For the study, the data was plugged into a computer model to simulate the way self-driving taxis would affect traffic, the Daily Mail reported.

The number of cars are said to have dropped only by 77%, even with only one passenger a ride without any complementary public transport.

According to the researchers, replacing personal cars with self-driving cabs will also free valuable real estate that is used for public parking at present.

Uber announced last year its plans to replace all of its drivers with autonomous vehicles in a bid to cut down costs.

This year, ten US cities are set to launch automated vehicle pilot projects, the first one being unveiled in Tampa Bay, Florida, US.

Trials are underway to roll out in another 12 to 20 locations in the country by 2016-end.

The latest figures reveal that by 2017, autonomous cars could hit the roads in up to 30 cities in the country.

The UK also plans to trial the vehicles in Greenwich, London, as part of the $9m Gateway project.

Image: Google’s self-driving car has no steering wheels or pedals. Photo: courtesy of Google.