Driverless Cars
Top Categories
Commentary: The Promise and Folly of Self-Driving Cars
A debate over self-driving cars has reached a fever pitch in San Francisco. Companies like Cruise (a subsidiary of General Motors) and Waymo (a subsidiary of Alphabet/Google), under mounting pressure to commercialize their decades of research & development into autonomous vehicles, have been pushing hard to expand self-driving taxi services in the city. At the same time, city officials are sounding the alarm about how their cars are disrupting essential services including public transit and emergency vehicles. Grassroots advocates from all sides have also jumped into the fray, engaging in everything from online tech boosterism to guerrilla tactics to disable vehicles on sight.
Simon Tan
September 14, 2023
Guest Editorial: Driverless Cars Could Wreck Livable Cities
Over the past year driverless cars have been promoted as a panacea for livable cities. The storyline is that driverless cars will help reduce car ownership, free-up urban space for walking and biking, and help reduce death and injury. The USDOT has joined the parade with its “smart city challenge,” awarding Columbus, Ohio a $40 million prize to implement a demonstration project that includes incorporating driverless cars.
July 5, 2016