Eye On Illinois: Privately owned autonomous vehicles won’t inherently plug public transit gaps

Writing for Capitol News Illinois, Bernarda Malevska examined the Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Project Act.

In addition to backing the bill, Buckner wants the new Northern Illinois Transit authority to study how self-driving vehicles might integrate with existing public transportation networks.

Valid concerns, but there’s a missing link: the “first- and last-mile” rides problem exists specifically because of public transportation shortcomings.

Using autonomous vehicles in this capacity wouldn’t affect private sector drivers who already opt out of seeking such clients.

Buckner noted a San Francisco program giving Waymo credits to passengers who use public transportation within two hours of their private ride.