Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposed state budget for next fiscal year includes a provision that could increase the number of autonomous vehicles on streets, and a local advocacy group says that would need strong guardrails if enacted.
Reconnect Rochester and other groups across the state have outlined several key areas they want legislators to address as they discuss and act on any measure to allow the deployment of autonomous vehicles.
"We share the optimism in the potential that autonomous vehicles could play out to be a safer technology, safer than human drivers," said Cody Donahue, Reconnect Rochester's co-executive director. "But we're still in the very early stages, so we really need to verify and have a framework that allows municipalities and the state to be able to hold operators accountable."
Under the governor's proposal, companies could apply to the state Department of Motor Vehicles for approval to operate a for-hire autonomous vehicle. The operator would have to pay a $1 million fee and would have to show that there is local support for deploying the vehicles. They would have to renew that approval every four years.
Hochul has said autonomous vehicle technologies are rapidly advancing, and the state has an opportunity to ensure they're operated safely and responsibly.
Reconnect Rochester and the other groups, including Climate Solutions Accelerator of the Genesee-Finger Lakes Region, want lawmakers to require that the show of local support take the form of a resolution from the local governing body — think town boards, city councils, and county legislatures.
They also want local governments to be able to address local issues, such as transit deserts, and create zones where autonomous vehicles are excluded or incentivized. Henry Litsky, policy and advocacy coordinator for Reconnect Rochester, said that would be an avenue for local governments to address areas underserved by transit.
"They should have the ability to create incentive zones and to really integrate it into public transit, to link trips instead of just replacing trips in our urban core," Litsky said.
Reconnect Rochester also wants the Legislature to require operators to report specific information, including crash data and videos, and for that information to be available publicly.
Donahue said there have been high-profile safety incidents involving the vehicles. For example, in Austin, Texas, there's a documented problem with the cars repeatedly passing stopped school buses. And in San Francisco, an entire fleet came to a sudden halt during a blackout.
"What we want to make sure is that going forward, in New York state, we have full access to data, that there's transparency and that there's the ability to verify claims of safety, no matter... who the operator is," Donahue said.
Waymo, an operator of autonomous vehicles, makes its data public and its safety record has been positive, Donahue said.
The groups also want lawmakers to ensure that operators are ticketed when their vehicles break the law.
