AV Transit Shown Off in Nevada as Law Passes

Nevada's push for an autonomous vehicle law has succeeded, but part of the public relations effort associated with the legislation was the week-long operation of a shuttle in Las Vegas. Add media coverage and delighted passengers to produce a sweet picture of a rosy and uncomplicated future. Image is as important as reality.

The Nevada bill that became law on June 16 is quite broad and allows for the operation of autonomous vehicles. →No human is required to be present in an AV or ready to operate or test the vehicle.

The law provides for:

• Platooning, if in compliance with state law,
• Operation and testing of autonomous vehicles,
• Pre-emption of local laws, taxes, and fees,
• Partially and completely AV, and
• Lack of liability for post-purchase third-party conversion to AV.

Unusual is:

• Ten-business-day window for reporting crashes,
• Explicit adoption of SAE International terminology regarding levels of automation,
• Tax on AV rides from a company operating as a transportation network company (TNC), otherwise known as ride hailing,

at the rate of 3 percent of the total fare charged for transportation services, which must include, without limitation, all fees, surcharges, technology fees, convenience charges for the use of a credit or debit card and any other amount that is part of the fare. The Department shall charge and collect from each autonomous vehicle network company the excise tax imposed by this subsection.

New acronym warning

The law coins a new term here - "autonomous vehicle network company" (AVTC). The meaning is obvious, but the definition articulated is "an entity that, for compensation, connects a passenger to a fully autonomous vehicle which can provide transportation services to the passenger." The law provides for an application process for AVTCs.

Pretty much a taxi/TNC/AV law

The AVTC section of the law provides:

• Prospective passengers of AVTCs will be entitled to a fare estimate before embarking on a trip.
• At least an annual inspection of AVTC vehicles.
• Receipts for passengers and what they must contain. 
• Explicit exemption from the meaning of AVTC are human services transportation, motor carrier transportation, and carpool matching services. But later on the law allows for AV human services transportation, taxi, and motor carrier transportation. 
• Production and retention of trip records, vehicle inspection records, annual reports to the state, and on and on, blah, blah, blah.
• Ban on release of personally identifiable information about passengers - without consent or unless disclosure relates to "protect[ing] or defend[ing] the terms of use of the services or to investigate violations of those terms of use." Nice use of legalese.
• Submission of crash reports.
• Localities are permitted to regulate AVTC business licenses and permit, certification, and/or fee to operate at an airport.

There's more, but suffice it to say that this law is basically a set of AVTC regulations that some parties wanted to ensure were set pretty much in stone instead of being left to the predilection of whichever administrator is in charge.