Cities Hopeful, But Have Much To Lose With Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous cars are coming. Publications from Motor Trend to The New York Times are now focused on reporting the details of both the technological advances and consumer reactions to this revolution.

- Michael Coates

Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation and National Highway Safety Traffic Administration released new autonomous vehicle (AV) guidelines in September that streamline the path to testing and deployment of these technologies. Car companies from Ford to Tesla to Uber have cars on the road and, around 2020, plan to offer them more broadly on the market.

The Petri dish for testing and early deployment of autonomous vehicles is the city – that’s where the likely market for AVs already exists. Cities are aware AVs are coming, but they also know they’re not ready. The National Association of City Transportation Officials, which represents 55 cities, has thrown down the gauntlet in their plan, Promised Land. They see “the potential to make our cities safer, more efficient and more economically productive,” but, as a group, they also want cities to have more control. The concern is making sure AVs don’t end up draining mass transit of riders or making streets less safe because of immature technology and congestion.