Toronto braces for impact of driverless car revolution
The federal and provincial governments set most of the rules around cars, but automated vehicles could reshape cities.

TheStar.com
Jan. 15, 2018
David Rider

Driverless cars notifying emergency services after a crash. Automated trucks helping collect Toronto homeowners’ trash. A plunge in city parking revenues when vehicles drop passengers and simply roll away.

Those scenarios are among many envisioned by city transportation staff in a report on preparations for the coming wave of autonomous vehicles. Governments must be ready for potential benefits and problems triggered by the shift that could reshape cities.

Cars and trucks with some automatic functions, including cruise control and automatic braking, are plentiful on Toronto streets, while fully autonomous vehicles are being tested here, notes the head of a city interdivisional group dealing with the issue.

“These more advanced vehicles have the potential to reshape our transportation system, impacting road safety, traffic congestion, mobility equity and environmental health. . . ,” while threatening some jobs and creating others, and raising big issues around driver data use and protection, says the report, released Friday.

“Widespread adoption of vehicles still requires yet-to-be resolved issues in human factors and ethics, as well as legal frameworks in and across local, regional and national jurisdictions.”

The City of Toronto supports the adoption of “advanced driver assistance systems” that reduce car dependency and increase average auto occupancy, expand mobility options for the disabled and elderly, and enhance the safety and attractiveness of walking, cycling and transit.

Toronto takes a “transit-centric approach” to “encourage the adoption of advanced driver assistance systems for public and mass transit vehicles, with the purpose of improving reliability, efficiency, safety and seamlessness of transit.”

The federal government decrees vehicle standards. The province makes most driving rules. But the autonomous vehicle (AV) revolution could see city departments having to grapple with a number of issues:

• Reams of data on drivers, passengers and vehicles “must continue to be collected and maintained in accordance with existing privacy legislation and guidelines, while passenger safety is maintained.”
• AVs will increase demand for transportation, with gridlock mitigated by co-ordination of connected vehicles. Emissions could rise, mitigated by a switch to electric vehicles. “Without these technological co-developments, automated cars could lead to increased congestion and emissions.”
• AVs must be programmed to get out of the way of police, fire and ambulance services. “Automatic notification to 9-1-1 in the event of an AV-related accident/incident should also be considered.”
• Toronto’s solid waste division is “interested in exploring a pilot on autonomous vehicles for waste collection comparable to pilots currently being conducted in Sweden,” that could improve fuel efficiency, working conditions, employee and public safety, and customer service levels.
• Planning officials are preparing for “opportunities and challenges” in the use of land and public space. Reduced parking needs could trigger changes to zoning and other rules, but they must be consistent with Toronto’s official plan, visions and goals.
• Automation could create new industries and jobs but also “displace traditional jobs” including drivers in the transportation industry.
• A reduction in private car ownership could lower demand for city-operated parking lots and on-street parking.

In 2016 Toronto created, on a temporary basis, “the first staff position focused exclusively on preparing for automated vehicles at any government body in Canada,” to co-ordinate the departments’ preparations, which will include a new three-year plan starting in 2019.

David Ticoll, a distinguished fellow at the Innovation Policy Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, who authored a 2015 study for the city on potential impacts of driverless cars, called the staff report “quite ambitious.”

“It’s actually very unusual for any city to come up with such a comprehensive review,” he said, adding many U.S. counterparts are focused on luring AV labs and other tech job creators.

Cities need to prepare now, he said, for the change ahead. Online shopping has more trucks delivering goods, while automated vehicles will soon be delivering and dropping off people.

“With increases in active transportation like cycling, the most contested part of the city is going to be the curb.”