The hype about autonomous vehicles solving the world's mobility problems, at the expense of public transport, is a gigantic load of nonsense. As a researcher in this field, my emotions tend to boil over rather easily when discussing the merits of public transport versus autonomous vehicles.

Probably not coming to a street near you anytime soon. Credit:AFP

Everyday commuters are presented continuously with false blanket statements that tell us public transport has no future. Much of what is discussed about the future of transport flies in the face of facts and a long history of what knowledge has collected about the human condition, economics, cities and travel.

It is easy to find detractors of public transit services on planet Earth (especially in Melbourne), not the least of which are users having to cope with unreliable services, decaying infrastructure and passenger overcrowding.

Traffic congestion has now become a global issue, not just for environmental reasons. Car traffic brings significant impacts to communities, especially on urban liveability, including the separation of urban centres by busy roads and creating further social disadvantage.