Washington - the District and the State

DC brewing, distilleries, pop-up art and now AVs - time to rethink this city

I'll use the words prudent and leary, as in wary of new things, instead of employing the politically charged word "conservative;" but perhaps provincial is the best word for DC. And now, even DC is considering - not actually contracted to, not with actual date set - a small-scale autonomous vehicle (AV) shuttle pilot. Yes, after pondering in Bismarck, ND, and pilots in Arlington, TX, and in Contra Costa, Calif., DC is actively thinking and soliciting thoughts.

Last week, the mayor, Muriel Bowser, put out a "Request for Information [RFI] from private sector companies developing autonomous vehicle (AV) technology, seeking partnerships and industry input on policies and procedures to guide pilot projects within the District." This would be in an area with relatively little traffic, near tourist sites, and that the District wants to promote due to new development. According to this same article, "Starship Technologies autonomous delivery robots ... can be seen traversing sidewalks in Logan Circle and 14th Street, NW." You don't see those roaming near Metro Center and the White House.

The AV pilot RFI is the product of a municipal interagency working group and the business improvement district (BID) where the pilot would take place. The Mayor's press release identifies the municipal partners as including planning, transportation, emergency services and police, energy and the environment, the DMV, the Department of For-Hire Vehicles, and the Office on Aging, and Office of Disability Rights.

While in the other Washington, leaps ahead

Oh yes, anyone who says "Washington State" is likely from the East Coast. True that for me. Washington, the state, has AV cars in Kirkland and  AV planning in Seattle. In Seattle,

A three-person team has been assigned to monitor what the area’s 20-plus autonomous vehicle firms are doing, while also researching what issues the city will have to address when self-driving cars are advanced enough and plentiful enough to require regulation. Among the things the team is considering: whether the city government or a corporation—similar a phone company or a cable services provider—should build and maintain the master computers, transmission towers and data storage facilities that self-driving cars will require.

I'm sure this trio realizes that they are in a somewhat precarious position because the public sector, especially in cities, is the tail being wagged both by state governments preempting municipalities and by corporations and startups interested in their own rewards as much as in the public good - as defined locally.

Plan for this

In Singapore, testing begins next year on full-size AV Volvo buses. Time for transit to start planning and for drivers to get serious about Plan B.