Arkansas AV Bill Seems Sure to Pass

Arkansas autonomous vehicle (AV) legislation has flown through the state's House and Senate, awaiting the governor's signature, and sure of passage. HB 1562 would delete the word "pilot" and permit permanent operation of an allowed AV on Arkansas roads. I do not disagree with this approach, though I find the attitude in the bill to be much more pro-business than pro-safety, any regulation of which is left to the state highway department. 

Another approach means vibrant experimentation

Pilots are generally well-funded, but temporary, projects that have been a favorite for the last few years in the AV shuttle world especially. For trucks and other AVs, testing has represented most AV operations. This doesn't mean that these are the only options and one can question whether a temporary fabulous service - sometimes only operating on particular days and for quite limited hours - can really prompt ridership demand or change how people travel. What most, but not all, pilots aim for is an unambitious introduction of AVs in a way that closely mirrors a quaint amusement park ride more than an actual transit or on-demand taxi-type service. 

This is not to say that there are not exceptions and the trend is toward transit-like or microtransit AV pilots. There is a place for permanent integration of well-designed AVs into our transportation networks. This is basically the course that Waymo has chosen in suburban Phoenix - located in AV-friendly Arizona.

The Arkansas bill could change this pilot/testing rubric in a major way in the Land of Opportunity State, though there is so much flexibility left to the State Highway Commission that the execution of such a statute would not necessarily result in wider latitude for industry. The presumption, however, is that corporate latitude - with as little regulation as possible - is the legislative purpose.

Name dropping without vision

There is no pathway to popularity laid out in the Arkansas AV bill for on-demand robotaxis or public transit, because the bill merely allows these AV services without mentioning how, why, or whether to regulate them, let alone prompting an explosion of zero-or-low emission modes or transit. 

Pre-COVID, Fayettville reported the following mode shares:

Fayetteville is host to about 44,000 workers aged 16 years or older. Of these workers, nearly 25% travel less than 3 miles to work, and nearly 50% of workers travel less than 7 miles to work. The private vehicle is the most used mode for commute trips in the city, with a share of 86%. About 6% walk for their daily commute, 2% ride a bicycle, 1% use public transportation, and less than 1% used a taxicab or motorcycle. About 4% of workers reported working from home. 

[Fayettville Mobility Plan, 2018. ] Please note that public transportation in Fayettville is fixed-route bus service with a minimum of 30-minute headways and a majority of routes having scheduled 60-minute headways. The service is fare free and the state university operates its own transit system.

Still, the bill allows AV operation as:

• An on-demand driverless capable vehicle network,
• For-hire transportation,
• Transportation of multiple passengers who agree to share the ride in whole or in part, or
• Public transportation.

This is all fine and perhaps Arkansas legislators envision their AV bill as an initial step toward a multimodal future, though I suspect otherwise. I find it interesting that online searches about the bill and its sponsors revealed almost no coverage of this legislation. AVs do not seem to be a hot topic for the  Arkansas public.