Story Highlights Exciting Future of Autonomous Vehicles

A fascinating CBS/KPIX news story this week highlighted the exciting potential of autonomous vehicles (AV) for improving safety on our streets, roads and highways, meeting mobility needs of a wide range of users and easing traffic congestion. The story featured Waymo, an industry leader in AV technology that was founded by Google in 2009 and began operating as an independent company in 2016. The Bay Area Council has worked hard to advance the AV sector, including advocating for state regulators to allow the testing and operation of driverless vehicles and supporting applications by individual companies like Waymo to conduct testing and other operations on city streets.

The Council’s Transportation Committee is co-chaired by Waymo City Policy Strategist Arielle Fleischer. The Council is also opposing legislation (AB 316, Aguiar-Curry) that would require a human driver be present in AV vehicles, a requirement that runs completely counter to the idea of autonomous vehicles and would put California at a severe disadvantage against other states competing to grow their AV industry and attract AV investment and jobs.