Autonomous vehicle research

This memo is in response to Order 12 from the October 31, 2016 City Council Meeting (Awaiting Report Item 16-85), requesting that the City staff confer with the City of Boston about partnering on their ongoing World Economic Forum study on Autonomous Vehicles (AVs).

As noted in the Policy Order, AVs have the potential to significantly impact the transportation system, with potential changes in safety, travel behavior, propulsion technology, and vehicle ownership that are difficult to predict. At the same time, Cambridge and the Boston area are home to a range of AV activities, including research at MIT and the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, and vehicle/technology companies such as nuTonomy and the Toyota Research Institute. As a result, it is important that we pay close attention to this technology as it emerges, and make efforts to influence the policies, technologies, and business models that will shape the development, deployment, and adoption of AVs.

Based on this Policy Order, we recently reached out to Kris Carter, Co-Chair of Boston’s Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, who is coordinating Boston’s overall AV initiatives, including the World Economic Forum (WEF) project. Although the WEF study is nearing its conclusion, there is a clear willingness to share the results of the study, particularly the analysis that WEF and its consultants are preparing regarding potential future AV deployment scenarios. In addition, the WEF team is preparing a policy analysis that Boston intends to use to guide their future work on AVs in areas such as public safety, public testing, ownership models, and vehicle technology (i.e., electric vehicles).

Boston is clearly very interested in working jointly to discuss and develop a more regional AV strategy to address the range of safety, policy, and technology issues raised by the expected growth of AVs.

Working together will also assist us as we coordinate with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, particularly in the context of the Baker Administration’s recent Executive Order Page 2 of 2 related to AVs (http://www.mass.gov/governor/legislationexecorder/execorders/executive-order-no- 572.html).

Based on this initial conversation, there appear to be a number of promising areas for future collaboration between Cambridge and Boston (as well as other nearby municipalities), building on the WEF project. We will continue to coordinate these collaborative efforts at a staff level and provide the City Council with updates, as well as seeking out appropriate policy guidance.