At a news conference at CES, along with leaders in transportation policy and technology, officials with The Alliance for Transportation Innovation announced plans for a coast-to-coast autonomous vehicle road trip, beginning later this month in Atlanta, GA.
The “AV Road Trip,” announced at a news conference held in conjunction with the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, will bring self-driving technology directly to the public in cities across America. “There is no doubt that when it comes to self-driving vehicles, seeing is believing,” said Paul Brubaker, President and CEO of ATI21.org.
The Washington, D.C.-based association advocates on behalf of the transportation technology industry to accelerate the adoption of innovative technologies that will reduce traffic deaths, improve the flow of urban commutes, safely deliver goods to market, eliminate human error and improve mobility for the underserved, disabled and elderly.
The first stop on the tour is Atlanta, GA on January 26th, followed closely by appearances in New Orleans, LA on January 30th; Arlington, TX, on February 2nd; Los Angeles, CA on February 6th; and San Jose, CA on February 9th. EasyMile’s EZ10 driverless shuttle will be featured at every stop, allowing community leaders, invited members of the public and the news media to experience the future of transportation. Additional tour stops will be added throughout the year.
At today’s announcement, Mary E. Peters, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, lauded ATI’s efforts on behalf of autonomous technology and decried regulators for not keeping up with the pace of innovation.
ATI’s Chairman, former U.S. Rep. Robert “Bob” Walker, also attended the news conference. “I’ve been helping craft technology policy for most of my life, but I’ve never seen this amount of excitement. We are witnessing the dawn of a complete transformation of transportation in America,” said Walker, a member of the Trump Administration transition team.
Splunk, Inc., provider of the leading software platform for real-time Operational Intelligence, and HDR, a global engineering, architectural and construction services firm, also are sponsors and demo participants of the 2017 tour.