Community-First Autonomy
Seattle Department of Transportation
Putting People at the Core of Autonomous Transportation
Armand Shahbazian, Electric and Automated Mobility Policy Advisor
March 2025
Our Vision, Mission, Values, & Goals
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Seattle is a thriving equitable community powered by dependable transportation. We're on a mission to deliver a transportation system that provides safe and affordable access to places and opportunities.
Core Values & Goals:
Equity, Safety, Mobility, Sustainability, Livability, and Excellence.
The transportation system is not static
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1906
Today
Innovation is changing how we access places and opportunities
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Lime Glider seated scooter
Metro Flex on-demand shuttle
More choices = more opportunities to access places and opportunities
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More choices = more opportunities to access places and opportunities
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More choices = more opportunities to access places and opportunities
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Autonomous vehicles, also called AVs or self-driving cars, are now providing passenger services in numerous cities across the United States
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How did we get autonomous vehicles?
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AVs, GPS, and the Internet
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AVs, GPS, and the Internet
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Examples of Autonomous Vehicles
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Examples of Autonomous Vehicles
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Examples of Autonomous Vehicles
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Examples of Autonomous Vehicles
How are AVs regulated in the United States?
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There are no federal safety standards that concern the capabilities of automated driving systems.
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In the absence of federal standards, states rely on industry ‘self-certification’ or assurance from the industry that their technology is ready for public roadways without external vetting.
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Washington State allows autonomous vehicles to test on public roads.
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Autonomous Vehicle Regulation in the U.S.
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States that allow testing only
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States that allow for AV deployment
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States that have public AV service
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Preemption
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A legal doctrine that allows upper levels of government (state) to restrict or prevent a lower-level government (city or county) from self-regulating.
AV companies are seeking legislation to fully deploy these vehicles for commercial service in Washington State.
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Proposed legislation includes preemption of local regulations.
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Looking back: Uber, Lyft, and TNCs
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TNC Playbook: “Move fast and break things”
Rapid scale
Public pressure
Lobbying state governments
Leveraging legal challenges
Implementing regulatory preemption
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What happened with TNCs?
TNCs will… | Result | AV Passenger Services |
Reduce congestion | No. TNCs accounted for approximately 50% of overall increases in congestion. | ?? |
Reduce vehicle miles traveled | No. TNCs are as much as 14% of VMT in core city areas. Dead-heading (no passenger) represents as much as 59% of TNC VMT. | ?? |
Facilitate car-free lifestyle | No. TNCs have had an insignificant change in vehicle ownership rates. | ?? |
Carry more passengers | No. 49 – 61% of TNC trips substitute for transit, walk, or bike travel, or would not have been made at all. TNC passenger occupancy is similar to private vehicles. | ?? |
Expand mobility for non-drivers | Limited. Currently, 4% of adults 65 and older use TNCs. Wheelchair accessible trips required legislative mandates and years of advocacy. | ?? |
What did cities learn?
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Adapting to new transportation technologies
Cities learned from TNC Playbook
Cities were more aggressive with micromobility
Cities implemented permits and other regulations quickly
Data sharing and digital tools were created and implemented
Active management and coordination was an expectation
Concerns and opportunities
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There are no available or planned purpose-built autonomous vehicles that are wheelchair accessible.
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Some tasks are difficult to automate, such as securing wheelchairs or other mobility devices.
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Regulatory preemption prevents cities and counties from requiring discount programs or integration with existing fare systems.
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Challenges with curb loading, including double parking and stopping in travel lates, may result in access and safety issues.
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Congestion may increase without local input on fleet size, deployment areas, and routing.
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AVs may ‘deadhead’, or drive without being in service, in similar fashion as TNCs.
AVs may offer safety benefits that include quick reaction times, driving the speed limit, and not driving drunk or drowsy.
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What have we seen in peer cities?
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Cautionary tale: Cruise in San Francisco
On October 2, 2023, a pedestrian in a crosswalk was hit by a human driven vehicle.
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A Cruise AV in the adjacent lane hit the pedestrian and ultimately dragged her for approximately 20 feet.
The Cruise automated driving system (ADS) accelerated toward a pedestrian directly in front of it in a crosswalk, potentially reducing reaction time available following the initial collision of the pedestrian with the adjacent vehicle.
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Cautionary tale: Cruise in San Francisco
The Cruise ADS continued to accelerate as it tracked the pedestrian through impact with the vehicle in the adjacent lane.
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Cautionary tale: Cruise in San Francisco
The Cruise ADS had a visual view of the legs of the pedestrian being dragged in one of the vehicle’s cameras, but the ADS did not consider this as the vehicle made continued forward movement with the pedestrian trapped underneath.
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Cautionary tale: Cruise in San Francisco
Exponent states that, “after the AV contacted the pedestrian, an alert and attentive human driver would be aware that an impact of some sort had occurred and would not have continued driving without further investigating the situation.”
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Cautionary tale: Cruise in San Francisco
October 2, 2023 Incident Findings
“The reasons for Cruise’s failings in this instance are numerous: poor leadership, mistakes in judgment, lack of coordination, an “us versus them” mentality with regulators, and a fundamental misapprehension of Cruise’s obligations of accountability and transparency to the government and the public.”
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Cautionary tale: Cruise in San Francisco
October 2, 2023 Incident Findings
“The DMV Suspension Order is a direct result of a proverbial self-inflicted wound by certain senior Cruise leadership and employees who appear not to have fully appreciated how a regulated business should interact with its regulators.”
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Cautionary tale: Cruise in San Francisco
What can our region do to prepare for AVs?
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Strategic Vision: Regional Collaboration
“Managing the advancement and utilization of technologies such as AVs … requires a cohesive vision, collaborative partnerships, and conscientious decision-making about what regional priorities are supported by policy.”
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“Managing the advancement and utilization of technologies such as AVs … requires a cohesive vision, collaborative partnerships, and conscientious decision-making about what regional priorities are supported by policy.”
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Regional priorities
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1. LEVERAGE STRATEGIC COLLABORATIONS:
Develop attributes for a successful strategic collaboration between the public and private sector using input from both the community and AV industry.
Engage communities in decision-making.
Collaborate with AV industry to form beneficial alliances.
Establish two-way communication with community and AV industry.
Establish mutually beneficial data-sharing requirements.
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1. LEVERAGE STRATEGIC COLLABORATIONS:
2. ENSURE SAFETY
Establish and implement a regulatory and legal framework for the safe testing and commercial operations of AVs on city streets across multiple jurisdictions.
Establish permit requirements for AV testing and operations.
Collaborate with regional, state, and federal agencies to maximize consistency.
Ensure transparent data sharing and reporting for AV testing and operations.
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3. SHAPE INNOVATION
Invest in infrastructure and policy to streamline integration of emerging transportation technology within the region’s transportation network.
Monitor advancements in the AV industry in other relevant cities and at the national level.
Ensure emerging mobility options are accessible to all.
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4. ENSURE TRANSPORTATION EQUITY
Drive performance goals to ensure equitable distribution of AV benefits and commit to ongoing monitoring of AV impacts.
Provide public outreach and education opportunities to further understanding of AV capabilities and limitations.
Formalize key performance indicators to evaluate effectiveness of AV deployments and their ability to meet city goals.
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5. INCREASE MOBILITY OPTIONS
Identify and advocate for communities and user groups that can benefit the most from AVs.
Identify high priority community-focused use cases for AVs.
Search for commonalities in goals among neighboring jurisdictions and stakeholders that inform policy decisions.
Champion projects that are a right fit.
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6. ENHANCE SUSTAINABILITY
Work proactively to shape the future land use and sustainability impacts of AVs.
Emphasize need to reduce deadhead miles.
Assess curbside assets and set policies for use.
Determine changes needed to parking regulations.
What is Seattle doing to advance these priorities?
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Testing permit program
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Supplementary to state self-certification
*does not include unmodified vehicles for retail sale
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SDOT AV Testing Permit
AV Permittees in Seattle
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Zoox, Inc. (Testing Level 3)
Permit issued: March 2023
Zoox aims to provide mobility-as-a-service ride-hailing for users.
NVIDIA Corporation (Testing Level 3)
Permit issued: June 2023
NVIDIA DRIVE aims to provide an end-to-end platform for the transportation industry to develop autonomous vehicles.
Zoox First Responder Event
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Seattle Police, Fire, and Transportation staff had hands-on time with the Zoox test vehicle to learn more about its sensors and how to interact with the vehicle in the case of a collision.
Seattle Police, Fire, and Transportation staff learned more about Zoox’s testing methodology, including how Zoox vehicles react to first responder vehicles and other scenarios.
Community-led engagement
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To address the specific challenges and opportunities that come with autonomous vehicles, we established the Autonomous Vehicle Inclusive Planning Cohort.
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The cohort was a group dedicated to ensuring that the introduction of AVs in Seattle benefits everyone and aligns with our safety, sustainability, and equity goals.
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The AV Inclusive Planning Process is an opportunity to demonstrate what it looks like when those most affected by potential impacts lead in setting community priorities for local and state government responses.
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Who is the AV Inclusive Planning Cohort?
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Community members with personal and professional expertise; and those who represent local community-based organizations, coalitions, and networks.
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What did the cohort do?
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6-month series of facilitated discussion. Partners include Uncommon Bridges, an experienced facilitation consultant, and the University of Oregon’s Urbanism Next Center, an academic leader in emerging mobility.
Cohort was compensated for sharing their lived experiences and time.
Cohort arrived at seven priorities to guide discussions and recommendations.
SDOT developed a Racial Equity Toolkit (RET). The City uses the RET to lay out a process and a set of questions to guide the development implementation, and evaluation of policies, initiatives, and program to address the impacts on racial equity.
SDOT actively provides regular updates and opportunities for cohort participation.
Community voices are at the forefront of the City’s expectations of AV industry deployment standards and ongoing decisions about program evaluations and investments.
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Management and Accountability
“[AV company] Reps should come with their A-game [when engaging with underserved communities]. They are asking questions of people who may never benefit from their services.”
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Worker benefits are prioritized in the implementation and evaluation of AV deployment strategies, particularly for [historically marginalized groups].
Job displacement is counteracted by job creation and opportunities for displaced and at-risk workers.
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Workforce Protection and Development
“Should the AV companies have a responsibility or hand in retraining or workforce development? Can this be required?”
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“Creating job training is fine, but it might not be the same skillset you are interested in doing, or same needs from your body, or same pay... jobs aren’t just transferable... they are not all the same...”
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“Be conscious of the timelines for communities and opportunities… there is evidence that by the time people have caught up, the job market might be oversaturated, moving on, etc.”
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All communities achieve equal access to these services through SDOT prioritizing vulnerable communities with the greatest barriers and needs and holistically addressing their accessibility and affordability barriers.
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Accessibility and Affordability
“Accessibility is such a multi-dimensional topic. I want to be open to experimentation, but as far as subsidizing things that don't live up to ADA, oh heck no!”
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AV operators surpass safety benchmarks that have been created using community insights and reflect public safety concerns.
AV operators and SDOT work to build and evaluate trust at all stages of testing, deployment, and operation.
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Safety
“Who is liable in incident scenarios? It should be realistic for people to pursue claims – particularly with the power imbalance between an individual and a large AV company.”
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“Vehicles need to follow all traffic laws. There should be less leniency for AV companies than human drivers... they should do better and follow rules better.”
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The deployment of AVs in Seattle has a positive environmental impact by helping the City achieve One Seattle Climate Justice Agenda and Green New Deal objectives, which include intersectional health and equity criteria.
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Environmental Impacts
“I feel the AV movement will accelerate the electrification of cars in this country, since electric cars are better to be used as AV. This has a big environment impact.”
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“[It is important to] address the oppression from gathering the materials needed for these technologies.”
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Future AV deployment is planned through an intersectional equity lens, holistically considering social identities and impacts.
AV deployment corrects past discrimination, serves underserved community members, and mitigates future harm to historically vulnerable groups.
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Intersectional Equity
“The City needs to motivate or require AV vendors to answer key inclusivity and racial equity questions. This would help communities feel good about the future and opportunities of AVs.”
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While it might not be predictable or linear, communities and SDOT are able to build trust and collaboration through a process that includes proactive educational touchpoints aimed at workforce development and welcoming all communities into the AV space.
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Education to Community
“Seattle residents make decisions off of affordability, access, and company ethic… they care about environmental impacts, vehicle life cycle, and company values.”
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Using data to improve operations
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AVs struggle with interpreting human traffic control commands, recognizing first responders, and they may not detect fire hoses and emergency tape.
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AVs may receive remote fleet support, but the ultimate driving task must be executed by the ADS. If this is not successful, fleet support must travel to retrieve the vehicle.
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What’s happening now?
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Graphic from City & County of San Francisco: Driverless AV Safety and First Responders; August 7, 2023
What tools can we leverage?
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From SMS to MDS
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Example – Building Fire
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Example – Building Fire
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Example – Building Fire
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Example – Building Fire
Using data to improve access
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Data sharing can lead to incentives and other collaborative services.
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Autonomous Vehicles are coming.
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Cities need to have a seat at the table to uplift what we hear and need for our communities.
If we wait for AVs to come rather than prepare for them now, we lose the opportunity to shape AV applications the to benefit of the region.
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If we shape it, we can guide the deployment of AVs to provide safe and affordable access to places and opportunities.
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Thank you!
DOT_AutomatedMobility@seattle.gov
https://seattle.gov/transportation/projects-and-programs/programs/autonomous-vehicles
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Seattle Department of Transportation
Mobility Solutions Team