Could Brisbane 2032 Be the World's First Robotaxi Games?

Author: Adam Beck Date Published: Sept 4, 2025 The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games aspire to set new global standards for sustainability, accessibility, and infrastructure legacy. These Games aim to be carbon-positive—removing more emissions than they produce—while delivering generational infrastructure that serves Queensland communities for decades beyond the sporting spectacle.

“The Olympic and Paralympic Games Brisbane 2032 aims will be developed with sustainability in mind. We’re developing a Games Master Plan that responds to today’s challenges and innovates the way we do things for a healthier planet.”[i]

But what if, by 2032, Brisbane becomes home to something unprecedented: the world's first major international sporting event significantly supported by autonomous robotaxis?

Robotaxi Reality Check

While Brisbane has yet to announce plans for autonomous vehicles, the global trajectory suggests robotaxis will be operational in major cities well before 2032. Looking at comparable urban deployments provides intriguing benchmarks. San Francisco, with 875,000 residents, currently operates a modest robotaxi fleet that handles roughly 0.05% of total passenger miles. Dubai, with 3.5 million people, plans 4,000 robotaxis by 2030 as part of its ambitious goal to make 25% of trips autonomous—though notably, robotaxis represent just 1.8% of that target, with automated metro and buses carrying a greater portion of the goal.

Scaling these precedents to Brisbane's 2.5 million residents suggests a plausible fleet of around 3,000 robotaxis could emerge by 2032. This number isn't pulled from thin air—it represents approximately 1.2 vehicles per 1,000 residents, closely mirroring Dubai's planned density while accounting for Brisbane's currently car-dependent transport culture.

If this scenario were to materialise in the three years leading up to the Games, the transformation would be profound. Traditional taxi and ride-share services would likely be significantly diminished, replaced by fleets of electric, accessible, and continuously operating autonomous vehicles. For visitors—many of whom would rely on accessible transport—this could represent a mobility revolution.

Accessibility Advantage

Here's where the Paralympic context becomes particularly compelling. Unlike the Olympics, the Paralympics demand universal accessibility from the outset—not as an afterthought. Robotaxis, without human driver compartments, can be more readily designed to accommodate wheelchairs, mobility aids, and specialised equipment. If properly orchestrated, they could offer predictable service timing crucial for athletes with specific scheduling needs, and would be a boon for visitors who want to preplan their itineraries.

Paralympics Australia has already emphasized that “accessibility cannot be treated as an afterthought or a bolt-on just for the Paralympic Games. It must be embedded in all infrastructure planning from the outset.” Robotaxis can align perfectly with this philosophy, by offering inherently inclusive mobility that serves both Paralympic participants and Brisbane's broader community. To boost that further, audio-visual capabilities can be added for passengers with sensory impairments.

Orchestration Challenge

But here lies a critical infrastructure question: even if only half of these 3,000 robotaxis are deployed across Brisbane's Olympic venues by 2032, how would we manage the chaos of pickup and drop-off?

Recent analysis by the Urban Robotics Foundation reveals the automated vehicle sector's Achilles heel is not sophisticated AI or sensors, but the mundane challenge of passengers getting in and out safely and efficiently. As Bern Grush, the Foundation's Executive Director, explains: “Unlike human drivers who make dynamic, opportunistic decisions about where to stop, automated vehicles require reliable, reserved spaces.”[1] Robotaxis don’t queue like ubers, they don’t improvise like human drivers, and they demand orchestrated, data-driven pickup and drop-off systems to function safely at scale.

The arithmetic is sobering. Industry experience suggests each robotaxi can generate 50 daily pickup and drop-off (PUDO) events. A 3,000-vehicle fleet would create 150,000 daily PUDO events—or 2.1 million events across the Games venues and transport hubs during the two-week duration of the Paralympics. Current locacl kerb management systems are simply not designed for this scale, as already demonstrated by existing ride-hailing and delivery services competing for space at currently lower activity rates.

The consequences of inadequate planning that lead to unmanaged pickup and drop-off are stark. A February 2025 incident in San Francisco saw a cyclist seriously injured when robotaxis used bike lanes for passenger drop-offs. A passenger opened a door into the cyclist to throw her into a second taxi on the same bike path. As Grush notes: “Without proper coordination, pickup and drop-off threaten worse chaos than cities have experienced in 125 years of kerb management.”

The Foundation’s Head of Planning, Adam Beck, who himself is a Brisbane resident, recently asked the question of local policy makers, “Are we seriously planning the Victoria Park stadium precinct with this in mind?  Beck continued, “Designing a precinct without accounting for autonomous fleets risks creating choke points, chaos, and digital disarray on the very stage meant to showcase our city’s future. The question is not whether robotaxis are coming - it’s whether Brisbane will be ready to host them by the time the Olympic flame is lit?”.

Infrastructure Imperative

The solution lies in what experts call “PUDO orchestration”—treating ground vehicle coordination like air traffic control. Just as airports don't allow planes to negotiate landing slots among themselves, cities need centralised systems that allocate kerb space in real-time based on vehicle needs and space availability.

For Brisbane 2032, this means rethinking precinct and venue design from the ground up. Every major venue purporting to be accessible would need:

• Dedicated robotaxi zones with wheelchair-accessible curb cuts, tactile guidance, and audio announcements

• Dynamic space allocation that can scale up during peak Games periods

• Mapping and telecommunication technology to enable reliable vehicle positioning

• Integrated accessibility features ensuring Paralympic athletes and spectators find services usable

The draft international standard ISO 25614 is already addressing some of these coordination challenges, defining message formats and data flows for kerb access management without requiring robotaxi operators to expose proprietary information.

Legacy of Innovation

Brisbane’s public transit network—particularly its extensive and reliable world class bus system—will be a real strength on display in 2032, helping move spectators smoothly across the city. At the same time, we know that cars will continue to play a major role in South East Queensland’s mobility story. With more electric, shared and eventually autonomous vehicles entering the fleet, careful planning is needed to ensure the likes of the main stadium precinct are ready to support this evolving mix. Balancing world-class transit with thoughtful integration of future vehicle technologies offers Brisbane an opportunity to set a global benchmark for sustainable, inclusive, and future-ready Games mobility.

And Brisbane's unique position as Australia's fastest-growing capital, combined with Queensland's openness to Chinese automotive technology (a critical advantage given Chinese innovation in robotaxi development), creates an opportunity to pioneer this opportunity.

The economic logic is compelling. Without driver labour costs, robotaxis can operate nearly continuously, making them cost-competitive while delivering the predictable, accessible service that Paralympic events demand. More importantly, an orchestration system provided for robotaxi coordination, would serve Brisbane's general population long after the Paralympic flame is extinguished.

Choice Ahead

Whether Brisbane will embrace robotaxis for 2032 and beyond remains uncertain. However, if global deployment patterns persist, if Chinese manufacturers maintain their technological competence and competitive pricing, and if accessibility demands drive adoption, the city may find itself at the forefront in managing thousands of autonomous vehicles.

As Beck concludes: “The choice facing city planners and precinct designers isn't whether automated vehicle deployment will be significant—it will. The choice is whether to optimise kerb management or react to unmanaged automation consequences.”

For Brisbane 2032, this choice carries particular weight. The Paralympics demand infrastructure that serves the most vulnerable travellers first. Robotaxis, properly orchestrated, could deliver on that promise while creating a lasting legacy of accessible, sustainable urban mobility.

The question isn't whether cities can afford to invest in robotaxi orchestration infrastructure—it's whether they can afford not to, especially when the world's most important accessibility showcase is coming to town.

[1] Intertraffic (2025) “Embrace the Paradox: Urban traffic and robotaxi orchestration” https://www.intertraffic.com/news/smart-mobility/urban-traffic-and-robotaxi-orchestration

[i] From the Brisbane 2032 website (August 2025) https://www.olympics.com/en/brisbane-2032/the-games/impact-and-legacy/