Nashville chosen for Bloomberg self-driving cars initiative
Nashville is among five global cities chosen for an autonomous vehicles initiative launched by Bloomberg Philanthropies in New York and the Washington, D.C.-based Aspen Institute.
The program, called the Bloomberg Aspen Initiative on Cities and Autonomous Vehicles, includes Nashville, Austin, Los Angeles, Paris and Buenos Aires, along with five other cities to be added this year. The cities will have access to data and coaching from urban planners and technologists meant to help them prepare for self-driving cars and use them to address city challenges.
“The advent of autonomous cars is one of the most exciting developments ever to happen to cities — and if mayors collaborate with one another, and with partners in the private sector, they can improve people’s lives in ways we can only imagine today," former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said at the CityLab conference for mayors in Miami.
Nashville Mayor Megan Barry said earlier this year that Davidson County could become a testing ground for self-driving cars as part of a regional push for improved transportation. The city has recommended a $6 billion, 25-year transportation plan that includes light rail and bus rapid transit solutions.
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"We don’t believe that autonomous vehicles alone will solve our traffic congestion issues, so it will still be important to invest in high capacity transit lines," Erin Hafkenschiel, Barry’s director of transportation and sustainability, said in an emailed statement. "We also hope that autonomous vehicles will help us provide mobility solutions to more people, particularly seniors, people with disabilities, and youth that don’t currently have access to the transportation resources they need."
Working with ridehailing companies to connect residents to transit systems has also been discussed by local transportation leaders. Lyft, which has a Nashville office, has partnered with General Motors on implementing self-driving cars into its ridehailing fleet.
“Nashville is a growing community that's thinking seriously about transportation and mobility, with a city hall that's focused on creative new solutions to urban challenges and partnership with other cities," James Anderson, who leads Bloomberg Philanthropies' Government Innovation program, said in an emailed statement.
Speaking with General Motors Vice President Mike Ableson at CityLab Monday, Barry emphasized Nashville's transportation challenges at the first and last miles of a commute that she said are especially felt by children and aging residents.
"Autonomous vehicles will be a way to bring transportation to those populations as well," Ableson said. "It will have a very positive impact with those populations, as well as the general population."
While the vehicles can connect low-income residents to opportunities, they can also increase economic disparities by allowing higher income residents to live more remotely, according to Raj Chetty, professor of economics at Stanford University. He commended the initiative for involving city leaders with the evolution of self-driving vehicles.
"Ensuring that a shift to driverless cars increases opportunity and improves the lives of urban residents across the world will require carefully designed social and economic policies," he said. "The Bloomberg Aspen Initiative on Autonomous Vehicles takes a valuable step in this direction by bringing mayors and city leaders together to discuss these issues."
Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter @JamieMcGee_