International Transport Forum Publishes Drone Report

The International Transport Forum (ITF) at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental organisation with 59 member countries. It acts as a think tank for transport policy and organises the Annual Summit of transport ministers.

ITF is the only global body that covers all transport modes. It is administratively integrated with the OECD, yet politically autonomous. Its mission is to foster a deeper understanding of the role of transport in economic growth, environmental sustainability and social inclusion and to raise the public profile of transport policy.

Last week, ITF published a report entitled: (Un)Certain Skies? Drones in the World of Tomorrow. This 65 page report investigates the role of drones as part of the future transport mix. It specifically addresses the issues policy makers face in engaging with the emerging private drone sector. The report highlights the interest that national civil drone councils bring to this equation. Drones for recreational purposes are not part of this study.

The potential impacts of large commercial drone fleets are as yet not fully understood. Assessment of the potential impact on aviation has begun, but appraisal is rarely addressed from a cross-sectoral perspective. Freight drones for urban goods deliveries and, eventually, drones for passenger travel, may have both positive impacts (e.g. improved connectivity in remote regions, traffic congestion alleviation, reduced travel times) and negative impacts (e.g. safety, privacy, noise, energy consumption, land use and visual amenity concerns). The report explores how some of these impacts could be anticipated and included in appraisal guidelines to support the underlying policy goals of efficient, safe, sustainable and equitable transport.

The insights in this report build on expert interviews, a review of published research and a workshop with 37 international experts held in San Francisco in November 2017. Attendees included drone manufacturers, leaders of regulatory, humanitarian and economic organisations as well as representatives of companies that utilise drones as a central component of their businesses, or are planning to do so.