Portland Says Yes To Testing Driverless Cars, Other Cities Will Follow: Mass Adoption When?

Finding driverless-friendly cities that allow car makers to test their technology has been one of the challenges facing the driverless industry.

Today, Portland stepped up to the plate. “The technology is coming,” says Mayor Ted Wheeler. “Either the technology will happen to us, or we are going to shape the playing field.”

Bloomberg reports Portland Opens Its Streets to Self-Driving Cars.

Autonomous vehicles need to drive and drive and drive, vacuuming up hours of real-life encounters on the road to make their algorithms smarter and safer.

But there’s one thing in relatively short supply: cities willing to have test cars on their streets. Portland, Oregon, is trying to change that and be what it says would be the first to issue permits for driverless vehicles, with the goal of getting them on its roads this year.

“The technology is coming,” says Mayor Ted Wheeler. “Either the technology will happen to us, or we are going to shape the playing field.”

The city will solicit proposals from companies working on driverless cars to gauge how they can help Portland reach its goals of reducing carbon emissions and providing equitable service. The city would also consider providing financial support for businesses to test autonomous transit vehicles, such as shuttles or buses, that could potentially connect passengers to its existing transit infrastructure. Wheeler says two years of pilot testing would inform final rules: “If we wait five years, my concern is we are not going to have a say in the matter at all.”

General Motors, Lyft Inc., and Daimler AG were among those that wanted to partner with Portland on autonomous transportation as part of Portland’s submission for the U.S. Department of Transportation Smart City Challenge last year.

If the city’s plan works out, driverless cars can learn more about maneuvering in the rain while dodging Portland’s many modes of transit, from light rail trains and buses, to pedestrians and unicycles.