MN: Brown: Self-driving cars in Minneapolis? A small Minnesota town did it first.

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Last month, the ridesharing service Waymo began testing its autonomous vehicles in the Minneapolis market. For many, this raises important questions about driverless cars.

What if they run amok?

Can they operate in the snow?

How will the computer know if I flip it off?

First reactions often overestimate safety risks. Distracted human drivers have a much higher rate of accidents than autonomous vehicles. One recent commentary in the Minnesota Star Tribune referred to public fears over automated cars as “robophobia” (“ Minneapolis should welcome Waymo’s self-driving cars,” Nov. 24). But after seeing how a robot vacuum handles pet waste, I agree that we should address such fears honestly.

In Grand Rapids, Minn., autonomous vehicles began operating three years ago. They’re part of a project called goMARTI, which stands for Minnesota’s Advanced Rural Transit Innovations. The title is apt; they’re years ahead of the Twin Cities, and they also demonstrate that the technology works.

“I’m trying to encourage everyone to come to Grand Rapids so you can try it,” said Tammy Meehan Russell, project manager of goMARTI. “It’s free. You can download the app. You can use the call center. It’s very easy.”

GoMARTI serves this town of 11,000 and the surrounding area with both autonomous and human-driven vehicles, though the autonomous vehicles carry human attendants to assist passengers and monitor the technology. These distinctive blue and green vans drive year-round through bad weather, roundabouts and school zones while safely avoiding pedestrians and herds of marauding deer that hang out by the airport.

Meehan Russell said automated vehicles have gotten good at navigating snow, partly because they remove human emotions from the equation.

“I know people are concerned about it, but I’m sure the tow truck drivers could tell you that [human] drivers aren’t exactly great at driving in winter,” said Meehan Russell. “[We are] showing that these vehicles are capable of advanced driving or greater levels of autonomy and being safer, even in winter.”

I live near Grand Rapids and can attest that the goMARTI fleet is ubiquitous in local traffic. If they were human, I’d call the vans friendly, if only because they’ve never cut me off or peeled out of the Dairy Queen parking lot in a cloud of blue smoke.

With more than 33,000 rides and 94% repeat ridership, goMARTI’s record earned another three years of funding from public and private sources. The project now includes more vehicles, more stops and added service to locations on the Leech Lake Reservation in western Itasca County. One of its key functions is to provide transportation to people with disabilities, including wheelchair transport.

Providing public transportation in greater Minnesota is a persistent challenge, where walking to the grocery store or clinic typically isn’t an option. Grand Rapids has in-town and local bus service through Arrowhead Transit and long-distance travel with Jefferson Lines. The town also has a private taxi service. Nevertheless, each service has its own limitations. Ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft don’t operate here because passenger volume can’t support enough drivers.

Meehan Russell said services like goMARTI can’t replace other forms of transit but rather become an important option in providing so-called “last mile” or specialty service.

“The transportation needs are there,” said Meehan Russell. “People want independence. They want something that’s on demand. They want something that works according to their schedule and that means there’s not going to be one big, single solution that will work in all places.”

The goMARTI app pairs with Arrowhead Transit and Jefferson Lines to show all available routes, not just the goMARTI vans. This helps people make transportation plans that work for different situations.

Meehan Russell leads the Plum Catalyst, the Twin Cities-based consulting business that oversees goMARTI’s kaleidoscope of overlapping partners and grant funds. Michigan-based May Mobility operates the autonomous vehicles as a subcontractor, while financial support comes from the state and federal transportation departments, the Iron Range Resources agency and local governments, along with other private investment.

The fact that goMARTI service remains free during this research phase is an important factor to consider. But Meehan Russell said they are gathering data on costs and long-term sustainability so that services like this can be continued and replicated in other small towns.

“Public transit isn’t going to fund itself,” she said. “You’re going to have to figure out how to find outside funding to subsidize, and so that’s what the long-term sustainable research and innovation project is all about.”

Public skepticism over automated rideshare services is based on more than just technical fears; there are potential economic impacts, too.

A state Labor Department study last year estimated there are about 12,000 rideshare drivers working in Minnesota, a class that includes disproportionate numbers of immigrants and people of color. Threats to these jobs would be uniquely disruptive to communities that need the work.

Meehan Russell said the goMARTI project has provided two important lessons. One, it’s important to engage with the public so people understand how the technology works. Two, that the project spurs workforce development: fewer drivers, but more related technical and support jobs.

I certainly won’t suggest that you get in a car operated by autonomous technology if you don’t want to. But I will tell you that I’ve driven alongside these vehicles for the last three years. They pose less danger than the humans I see looking at their phones while passing through intersections or driving down the highway.

Autonomous driving demands the same public policy attention as artificial intelligence, industrial automation and data privacy. We must never forget that this technology is supposed to serve humanity, and that we — not tech billionaires — must judge whether it’s working.

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