Why We Need to Talk About Autonomous Vehicles Today
If the idea of requesting a ride on your phone and having a driverless robo-taxi arrive appear to pick you up from exactly where you are to take you to exactly where you need to go, via the most direct route, no matter the weather or road conditions feels like a distant reality, you’re not entirely wrong. Robo-taxis — or self-driving vehicles or fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) — that are capable of driving on any road in any condition are still a ways out. This may lull us into thinking that AVs aren’t something we need to focus on right now and that there will be plenty of time to plan for them in the future when they seem more relevant, more current, more real. But the reality is that AVs are not only being tested on public roads, they are already starting limited commercial rollout in places like Arizona and California. So, while they may not be here tomorrow, the future may not be quite so distant.
For example, Waymo just announced it is opening a new AV testing site in Ohio specifically to test its vehicles in inclement weather. The testing site is also expected to be built with a variety of terrains, including a dense urban environment. This news comes on the heels of the announcement that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which is charged with regulating AV testing in California, will now allow AV companies to offer passenger service and charge for rides. These are incremental — yet important — steps that are moving us closer to the deployment of AVs on our streets, roads, and highways.
The truth is if AVs arrived today, we wouldn’t be ready. Should they share the road with other vehicles or should they operate in dedicated lanes? Should there be restrictions on where they can travel? Should they circle the block between ride requests? Should they wait in a staging area? If so, where? How much space do they need for loading and unloading? How do they interact with pedestrians? What if there’s a crash? Who’s liable? There are so many unanswered questions at this point.
The good news, of course, is that AVs aren’t arriving today and we still have time, but we absolutely need to use this time to plan ahead. They are coming, so we need to talk about how they should roll out. How should they be integrated into our existing transportation networks? We’re not starting with a blank slate. We’re working within the confines of our built environment, our street network, our existing infrastructure, and AVs will be too. We’re also dealing with existing transportation systems that are deeply inequitable and have left many people, especially communities of color, with limited mobility options. What happens if AVs are simply thrown into the mix? Do our transportation systems become more equitable? Does congestion decrease? Does VMT decrease?
If AVs are anything like ridehailing has been, it seems pretty unlikely.
Imagine if we had the foresight to plan for the impacts automobiles would have on our cities before that first Model T rolled off the assembly line. Imagine the ways we might have shaped deployment to align with equity and environmental goals. This is our opportunity with AVs now. Now is the time — while AVs still feel distant but not too distant — to talk about AVs and to plan for their arrival so that we’ll be ready to leverage them to our communal advantage.
