Transportation secretary touts benefits of autonomous vehicles
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao challenged the automotive and technology industries on Sunday to help governors and the Trump administration break down public concerns over self-driving cars, drones and other autonomous vehicles, touting their potential to improve lives and safety.
Chao, the former U.S. labor secretary and wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, met with governors on Sunday afternoon during the second day of the National Governors Association winter meetings.
Though Chao said automated technologies have the potential to help under-served populations like the elderly and disabled and cut down on road fatalities attributable to human error, she called public acceptance of the technology "one of the biggest barriers" to its development.
"I also want to issue a challenge to Silicon Valley, Detroit and all of the auto industry hubs to step up and help educate a skeptical public about the benefits of automated technologies," Chao said.
Gov. Rick Snyder, a Michigan Republican, said he was "fired up" to work on the issue, and agreed on the need for education.
Chao said the Department of Transportation has approved 10 applications so far for automated vehicle proving grounds, and sees potential in the technology to lower the number of fatal car crashes, of which 94 percent can be attributed to human error. She also said UPS is testing a drone delivery service in Florida and some states like Kentucky are using drones to assist firefighters and do safety inspections on rail lines.
Many of the governors acknowledged concerns with the technology, but expressed excitement about its potential. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducy called his state the "Kitty Hawk" of autonomous cars, and said he has personally test-ridden in three.
Govs. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Ducey led the panel discussion on transportation innovation that also drew questions from the state executives about what to expect from the new Trump administration regarding an infrastructure plan.
Chao said White House is engaged in discussions about "various infrastructure plans" and open to ideas from the states.
"I believe the time is now," she said about addressing a backlog of aging infrastructure, including more than just roads and bridges, and thinking about how to make the country competitive in the future.
Gov. Charlie Baker drew a laugh from the audience when he noted that several companies have located themselves in Massachusetts to work on autonomous vehicle technology.
"I thought they were doing it because we have a whole lot of smart people who know a lot about technology. It actually turns out they're locating in Massachusetts because our winters are horrible and our roads suck," Baker said. "They basically said if we can figure out how to move autonomous vehicles safely around the commonwealth of Massachusetts and city of Boston, we can do it anywhere in the country."
But Baker also urged Chao to consider the "workforce issues" that could result from self-driving trucks and other technologies displacing workers. He planned to have a private one-on-one meeting with Chao following the public discussion.
"I really think it's important for us as a country to be thinking far enough ahead on that one that we don't end up creating just a tremendous amount of economic hardship along the way," Baker said.
Gov. Gina Raimondo, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said that in addition to "trepidation" from consumers, public safety officials need to be part of the conversation about how self-driving cars and other technologies would be policed.
Raimondo also questioned Chao on the administration's position toward user fees, including airport passenger fees, as a source of revenue to pay for infrastructure improvements. She said Rhode Island turned to user fees on large trucks to help pay for its recent infrastructure investment bill.
Though Chao did not directly answer Raimondo's question, she later told Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin that public-private partnerships, which traditionally require some type of tolling, could be one way for states to facilitate some types of projects.
"There will be a lot of discussion about pay-fors and that will be a tremendous challenge," Chao said.
The secretary also identified eminent domain as another "huge issue" for states thinking about high-speed rail and its potential as an alternative mode of transportation to highways.
In response to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf's question about rail and other options deployed successfully in Europe, Chao said, "High speed rail is a part of the thinking of the future of the transportation system of our country. That's not to say there aren't problems. Eminent domain is a huge issue."
Explaining how high-speed rail needs long straightaways to reach its potential, she said figuring out how to increase speeds on Amtrak lines in the Northeast corridor has been challenging.
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