Pilots, Pods, and AV Shuttle Sales

Texas: Houston's public transit agency, METRO, announced that its board has approved an AV pilot with one of those cute AV shuttle companies for the Texas Southern University campus. A METRO employee will be on board the AV shuttle, but the shuttle will NOT operate on a public road and will not be on a road with any vehicles, only with pedestrians and bikers. "METRO hopes a successful test of the technology could lead to customers using the autonomous vans as a connection to major transit locations."

Texas Southern University is a historically black college with approximately 10,000 students. It is a major Texas provider of higher education for African Americans and latinos. Considering how underrepresented minorities are in the tech world generally and in AV development in particular, this is a good step. It also is nice to see a transit system actively participating in the first steps and planning for AVs as part of a city's mobility network. This is the exception rather than the rule.

UK: As part of the Leeds Digital Festival, a demo is going on in Leeds of four-seater AV pods; these cute little vehicles will be part of a trial in Leeds to begin sometime in the next few months. The Lake District (isn't that one of those places that Jane Austen's characters visit?) is the site of an ongoing pilot at a national park. I do not believe, however, that Colin Firth will be appearing near or taking a ride on the AV shuttle.

[For Jane Austen fans: Yes, indeed, Elizabeth Bennet, in Pride and Prejudice, visits the Lake District, where she tours Darcy's enormous home. She is in the company of her aunt and uncle.]

New Zealand and Korea: A New Zealand AV shuttle company has a buyer in South Korea for a bunch of its cute shuttles. The Korean buyer is a company developing a smart city. It is selling 150 of its 20-person shuttles, with capacity to extend to 40 riders. The company, Ohmio Automation, a subsidiary of HMI Technologies, has already begun testing and regular service is planned at Christchurch Airport; that's in New Zealand.

California Gets Into the Weeds, and Other States Continue Down Other Paths

Waymo has applied to the state of California for a permit to test completely autonomous vehicles (AV) - as in no human operator in the vehicle - on the state's public roads. So far, Waymo has no peers in applying for this top tier California AV operation permit. A post from Teslarati also reports that a second, unnamed, company applied, but that the application was incomplete. That makes one company out of 52 that already have obtained permission to test AVs with a driver. Consumer Watchdog is pressing the state to make the application process open to the public. This group has been the primary national voice for slowing down state and national permission to test and operate AVs and for restrictions.

California's new regulatory regime provides for testing and deployment of full-scale AV fleet operations of taxipods or shuttles zipping around its cities and suburbs or replacing rural vanpools. California is asking quite a bit of manufacturers that wish to test without human drivers, leveraging its geography as home base to Silicon Valley and a robust AV industry. I am not certain that a state or country without such a strong AV presence would be able to attract applicants for a permit otherwise.

Starts at level 3

Stays the same: For level 3 and above, California is allowing companies to continue AV testing with a driver, just continuing the regulatory regime of the past few years. Unlike many states, California requires:

A manufacturer conducting testing of autonomous vehicles on public roads shall maintain a training program for its autonomous vehicle test drivers and shall provide the department with a course outline and description of the autonomous vehicle test driver training program. 

This training will include"practical experience in recovering from hazardous driving scenarios." Not a job for me.

Completely human driverless testing: New Section 227.38 conceives of the empty AV and the AV with only passengers on public roads, but only for testing of a level 4 or 5 AV. Lots more information is required of the AV manufacturer for this higher-level permit. Among other requirements, the state will want to know where and when this testing is happening.

Remote operation capability required: Section 227.38 only permits AV operation without a human driver ready to take over IF there is a human somewhere who is tasked to remotely take over operation of the vehicle in case of emergency or failure.

A two -way communication link is required and the remote human must "continuously monitor" the vehicle. The applicant must provide a "description of how the manufacturer will monitor the communication link" of each of its AVs. Other requirements include, but are not limited to, a law enforcement interaction plan. I am uncertain whether this human, resembling the security guard who stares at security camera monitors for hours at a time, will be able to avoid distraction, boredom, and drowsiness.

Navya AV shuttle on Apr. 25 at University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

There is quite a bit of information that must be included in a mandatory law enforcement plan so that law enforcement will be able to detect an AV, will be able to communicate with its remote operator, and will have the capability to safely remove such a vehicle from a roadway.

Oh, and the remote operators must be trained.

Not all about safety: First, presume no privacy in the information about your whereabouts, what you are doing in the vehicle, and what, if anything, you say. That's my advice. California is acting as if we are interested in the details. "The manufacturer shall disclose to any passenger in the vehicle that is not an employee, contractor, or designee of the manufacturer what personal information, if any, that may be collected about the passenger and how it will be used."

We'll all be clicking on I Agree to long privacy notices.

California continues to require collision and disengagement reports for all AVs.

The big kahuna - deployment: California has developed a separate application for the top tier of deployment of AVs. Remember that this includes level 3 vehicles that have backup drivers as well as AVs that can operate without a human operator on board.

California is requiring that AVs have event data recorders, which it calls an "autonomous technology data recorder," that are required to collect and store "autonomous technology sensor data for all vehicle functions that are controlled by the autonomous technology at least 30 seconds before a collision with another vehicle, person, or other object while the vehicle is operating in autonomous mode. The data captured and stored by the autonomous technology data recorder, in a read only format, must be capable of being accessed and retrieved by a commercially available tool."

Self-aware AVs only: 

Enthusiasm vs. prudence - prudence gets passing on the right in Uber/Tesla crash aftermath

Connecticut is on its way to implementing a law passed in 2018 that will only address a preliminary phase of AV testing and pilots. Towns and cities may apply to be testing areas, but only four will be selected. "Participating municipalities will have to enter into agreements with autonomous vehicle testers." Click here to view the requirements for city-corporate AV agreements and the application form for municipalities.

One report says that Stamford will be first to apply. No other cities or towns have been mentioned. My suggestion: AV shuttle for a New Haven pizza tour. Slices included.

There's a reason why New Hampshire is the Granite State. State legislators are reportedly resisting lobbying efforts to weaken its bill. These legislators are not quite ready for testing and full-scale deployment on any road at any time and with no conditions.

It is the conditions that are giving AV proponents cause for concern. "Test vehicles would have to be accompanied by escort vehicles, and the license could be revoked for violating the rules of the road." Other conditions include a larger bond than is usually required ($10 million instead of $5 million); notification to localities of where and when testing will occur; and law enforcement freedom to pull over an AV for vehicle code infractions.

Oh, and the bill, HB 314, requires:

Certification that, prior to testing on public roads, the autonomous vehicle has been tested under controlled conditions that simulate, as closely as practicable, the real world conditions that the autonomous vehicle will be subject to during testing.

No surprise that AV industry advocates are pushing for legislation that is more favorable for companies.

Nebraska puts out welcome mat

Nebraska just passed a very permissive law. Instead of passing its original bill, which provided for an AV pilot in Lincoln with four shuttle vehicles, the new law allows fully AVs to operate on public roads without a human driver present in the vehicle. The one unique aspect of Nebraska'a law is a concern about AV operations vis a vis railroad crossings.

The automated driving system feature, while engaged, shall be designed to operate within its operational design domain in compliance with the Nebraska Rules of the Road, including, but not limited to, safely negotiating railroad crossings, unless an exemption has been granted by the department. The department shall consult with the railroad companies operating in this state when considering an exemption that affects vehicle operations at railroad crossings.

Crashes must be reported. The law preempts local governments from imposing any requirements or restrictions. Nebraska seems to be giving a hell yes! green light to on-demand AV fleet operations, whether they be for ridehailing, transit, or any kind of microtransit.

More, but ...

There is more from Pennsylvania and Indiana, but this post is already way too long. Those will wait, though, like Lucy and Ethel on the speeded up chocolate factory assembly line, I don't have enough pockets or tabs to fit everything.

Demos, Pilots, Airports, and Street Sweepers

Autonomous Vehicle Trip to Big 10 and Beyond the Midwest 

Wisconsin - AV shuttle to operate on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison next week on Apr. 24 and 25. Wisconsin is one of 10 autonomous vehicles testing grounds. And by "Wisconsin" I mean the big 10 school. There is lots of AV and connected vehicle technology development and testing happening there.

Michigan - The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor will have an AV shuttle in operation by the end of April. It will be free for students, faculty, and staff to ride on a 3/4 mile route on North Campus. Finally, because this AV shuttle pilot has been in the works forever, or at least since October 2017.

Minnesota - Minneapolis is about to host its second AV demo. The first was a pilot that took place before and during the Super Bowl festivities early this year. The second will be a weekend AV shuttle open to the public on the Midtown Greenway. Not set in stone, but it looks like the shuttle will operate on Apr. 27-29. The public will be permitted to ride that Sunday, Apr. 29.

Further south and then west ...

Texas - Officials in Houston are considering AV buses. The city hosts an AV testing ground. From a press report, the idea is that a first step would be a three-month AV shuttle pilot "on the campus of Texas Southern University."

Washington - Bellevue officials are in talks with companies to do the usual downtown AV shuttle pilot thing and to "test self-driving van pools to bring commuters into the city." (The city is Seattle, just for all of you native New Yorkers who know where "the city" is.) Turns out, the Seattle-area transit agency has a long-standing large vanpool program, so the program's administrative structure is already in place. Various, well-funded, players are reportedly ready to join in this sandbox. There does seem to be acknowledgement that fully AV vanpools are quite different than a slow speed AV shuttle that operates on a fixed route.

Over in Asia

Japan - 15-passenger AV buses - really shuttle size - in operation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which is still being cleaned up after the 2011 tsunami and earthquake caused a complete breakdown at the plant. By the way, the disaster was found to have been foreseeable because the plant operator "had failed to meet basic safety requirements such as risk assessment, preparing for containing collateral damage, and developing evacuation plans." That kind of disaster shows why we need safety advocates.

China - An AV container truck at a Chinese port is in operation. The truck is "expected to help port terminals and logistics companies to improve efficiency and save labour cost by more than 50%.
Compared to the traditional self-driving vehicles, the Westwell vehicle can quickly adapt to the port environment, make decisions and alternate controls."

China - The country has also instituted nationwide regulations  for AVs. According to FastCompany:

1. All cars must first be tested in non-public zones.
2. Road tests can only be on designated streets.
3. A qualified driver must always be in the driver’s seat, ready to take over control.

China - Shanghai has already begun trying out automated street cleaner vehicles. They will work quietly and neatly in the middle of the night to keep the streets swept and tidy.

One airport and then beyond

France - Charles DeGaulle Airport outside of Paris is the site of an AV pilot, but the plan is to expand to other airports operated by Groupe ADP, which operates 34 international airports. Don't head to Paris just for this. The AV shuttle, which will last until this July, will only be "offering free rides to passengers with limited mobility."

NOT A random AV tidbit

University of Florida - a graduate student is working on technology that will assist people with visual disabilities to navigate the use of AVs. For a person who is visually impaired, being a few feet away or half a block away from one's destination or vehicle location can be a complete barrier to travel.

PennDOT and a Wine Tour AV Shuttle - Drink and Ride

A perfect reason for an AV shuttle: tourist wine tours without driving. Taste more and ditch the designated driver. BUT you will have to go all the way to Australia (unless you are already there). Autovino - no kidding - if approved, will operate in New South Wales, that's NSW for those in the know, "on Hermitage Road, set against the majestic Brokenback Mountain Range." Not to worry if you prefer beer or no alcohol; craft beer, olive groves, and a day spa are in the area. The Around Hermitage Association will be happy to help with accommodations and other plans. The association is also a partner in the Autovino plan.

Could be better than attending an AV conference, given the wine, the gorgeous scenery, and the cute shuttle. No word yet on when Autovine will debut.

Liberal AV policy makes one state nervous

Pittsburgh, located in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, has lots of AV activity going on and - until THE fatality - Uber was giving driverless, well partially driverless, it turns out, rides. Someone at PennDOT, the state department of transportation, or someone close to the governor, must have panicked at Arizona's bad fortune to get caught with its pants down, basically not regulating AVs at all.

So Pennsylvania, a state founded by Quakers (just to throw in a bit of Pennsylvania history), rightfully has cold feet, but it does not wish to alienate the tech industry. Instead of passing a law or issuing regulations, which take time and get mired in details and advocacy, Pennsylvania is entering into a gentlemen's agreement of sorts. Basically, the deal for the tech industry is "you cooperate and we won't get too tough."

Kind of like a sweet plea bargain - technically voluntary

The deal is voluntary. Technically.

The plan includes submission of detailed company information, verification that federal and state safety standards are met, certification of driver training, list of vehicles involved, routes for testing and proof of insurance. 

At least six entities are involved with HAVs in this area, including Aptiv, Argo AI, Aurora Innovation, Carnegie Mellon University and Uber, although Uber suspended testing while national highway traffic officials investigate the Arizona tragedy.

Leslie Richards, the PennDOT secretary, said "[w]ithin 60 to 90 days, ... she would convene a meeting with the companies testing autonomous vehicle technology to discuss the interim [request] regulations. In addition, the state will reconvene the Autonomous Vehicle Policy Task Force to review the regulations and update policy recommendations."

Again, these are not regulations at this point, just a request that companies may voluntarily accede to.

Here's a clip from the movie Gentleman's Agreement.

Is the NHTSA Model Right for AV Regulation?

Remember:
I am not an engineer or a computer scientist; nor am I a planner. I am a lawyer by education and, worse, I was trained as a criminal defense appellate attorney, which means I was taught to be skeptical and wary of large institutions that believe the public should trust them.

When leaders and attendees at this week's NHTSA autonomous vehicle (AV) gathering referred endlessly to various federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) that proscribe equipment rather than performance, my brain did not process well the nerdy details. Plus, we are talking about a world of professionals mostly from automobiles, SUVs, and light trucks, with a smattering of trucking people.

We had a very small group, or so it seemed, representing other modes and transportation-challenged populations. I am grateful that this was an articulate and outspoken bunch.

Themes of my non-auto-oriented brain takeaways

Do we need FMVSS or better to require performance standards? Maybe concentrate on driving and other tests that are technology neutral. I would have to go to NHTSA's authorizing legislation for that.

Note to regulators: We can NOT assume at least one able-bodied occupant will be present in every AV whenever it is in operation. The AV might be picking up groceries, the kids, or anyone from a parking space or even moving across town without any passengers.

We should NOT assume that there will be any occupants! This thought kept repeating in my brain.

Another constant thought: OMG these FMVSS NHTSA people are so car oriented. To them transit examples - like Detroit driverless People Mover - is out of the box thinking. Thank you to the person from Michigan whose name I did not catch. He kept raising the point that transit already has examples - decades old in some instances - of driverless vehicles and "unconventional" seating design. He wisely said a few times, essentially, that we do not need to reinvent the wheel, as it were.

Good thing that people with disabilities and people of different sizes and abilities were acknowledged.

Good thinking about people with luggage. No mention of strollers at this event. We need more women in AV planning.

How to handle unbelted side facing occupants. Has anyone heard of transit? This happens every day for thousands of people.

Just a bit cranky here. These engineers from the auto and trucking industries mean well and really they, more than me, represent an America where an overwhelming percentage of people do not walk, bike, or take transit to their destinations.