☆ Opinion: Autonomous vehicles can solve San Jose transit’s “last mile” problem
Political commentator Denise Kalm believes the Bay Area over-prioritizes high-cost transit projects (like the disastrous BART extension), and should consider how some poor or elderly residents don’t have an affordable way to get to transit points. Could private (or public/private) self-driving vehicles be the answer? An Opp Now exclusive.
What local planners often forget is that people reliant on public transit, often the poor and elderly, may not have access to an affordable way to get to transit points. Buses can be better, but still may not offer the kind of support these groups need.
In transit circles, they call this the “last mile” problem. Small areas can ensure buses link up to rail so that people have a better option; but as people spread out to more affordable areas of California, there isn’t likely to be a willingness to provide bus service to these locations. The solution is autonomous vehicles.
Silicon Valley Leads the Way
First, you need the technology to make this work safely. A leader in this area that you may have seen in San Francisco is Waymo, which offers city rides in what looks just like a car, except with a rotating cap on top. Watching it navigating the downtown, I was surprised to see it stop safely as some jaywalker darted out between cars. Not all drivers could manage that. So far, LA and SF have these options. You summon them just like an Uber or Lyft.
But let’s focus on the truly autonomous vehicles, where there is no driver and no controls. Most are designed to hold up to four passengers and luggage. You can summon them, and they know how to go back to their base and recharge themselves. Glydeways, based in San Jose, is working on some pilot projects with these vehicles, which operate on tracks next to roads. They don’t require taking up a lane.
For a project to connect Brentwood to Antioch BART, they have raised $58 million. While it is likely not to be cost-effective enough—there aren’t enough people interested in using BART in an area more attractive to wealthy seniors—the idea of a trial there is fascinating. Glydeways has more trials underway.
Other players in this market include Zoox, which, like Glydeways, is building the vehicles themselves, not repurposing cars. In this way, they can control safety, efficiency, and passenger comfort with more space than in a car. They are using LiDAR, radar, and cameras, along with the latest hardware, to deal with the kinds of challenges this vehicle would face in traffic-challenged Silicon Valley. Amazon just acquired this company, indicating their opinion of Zoox’s IP value.
Cruise Automation is another player, currently owned by General Motors. Their goal is a bit different, but still in the same playing field. The Origin is designed to be an electric and fully autonomous shared vehicle, such as an autonomous Uber. People who don’t use a car as much as long-haul commuters do may find that the reduced expense from not having to own a car will make this option very attractive.
The Origin represents Cruise’s vision of future urban mobility: a shared, electric, and autonomous vehicle that offers a cleaner, safer, and more efficient mode of transportation. Cruise’s partnership with GM and other stakeholders like Honda underscores its potential to be a key player in future autonomous transportation networks.
These companies are currently all in Silicon Valley.
Testing
We want these companies to test thoroughly before being allowed on the road. Right now, the Concord Naval Weapons Station is the largest facility in the U.S. offering connected and autonomous vehicle testing. There are more than 2,000 acres and 20 miles of test tracks for testing. GoMentum Station is being used by many automakers because of its ability to offer curbs, tunnels, rough roads, and more.
Glydeways is also using the old Hilltop Mall in Richmond for its testing. They originally created the GoMentum Station, but wanted more room for testing and to pioneer new concepts in transportation.
Public vs. Private Funding
One challenge the Bay Area, including Silicon Valley, has always had is that almost every transit project is purely government-funded. This makes it necessary to comply with costly government regulations and pay structures. As an example, when BART was first designed, the idea was for it to be driverless. But the Greyhound bus driver union who would lose the lucrative trips to San Francisco protested, and drivers were included on every BART train (with an average pay of $37/hour).
Private options can work very well. At one time, the Chicago transit workers went on strike, leaving commuters in the lurch. A number who owned larger vans began offering reasonable rides into the city. The result was the union didn’t get as much as they wanted because they faced competition. Public/private options also can work well, if you can keep government unions from playing a major role.
With a privately funded company or a public/private option, those running it are more likely to make decisions that will ensure that they have a profitable bottom line. Perhaps we need to rethink the idea of “public” transit.
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