As Uber begins rolling out its driverless car service in Pittsburgh this week, two aldermen want to keep autonomous driving out of Chicago before it even hits the road.
Ald. Edward Burke (14th) and Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) have introduced an ordinance that aims to be a "pre-emptive strike” against driverless car companies like Uber, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
“We do not want the streets of Chicago to be used as an experiment that will no doubt come with its share of risks, especially for pedestrians,” Bruke said in a statement, adding "No technology is 100 percent safe.”
“With the deployment of driverless cars now imminent across the nation, we should be cautious not to allow them in Chicago until we know beyond any doubt that they are safe," stated Beale.
The proposed ordinance comes as other cities are ramping up driverless car innovation. On Wednesday, four of Uber's Ford Fusion driverless cars began picking up passengers on Pittsburgh streets. Driverless cars in Singapore hit the road last month.
In Boston, the city is planning to test driverless cars soon, and it's working to develop policy recommendations for the new technology.
Chicago officials, at least quietly, have been preparing for driverless cars for over a year. As we reported last September, officials have started the process of pre-approving parts of Chicago to be ready for driverless cars, according to Brenna Berman, the CIO at Chicago’s Department of Innovation and Technology. It's part of a concept the city is calling the Beta City Initiative, a plan within Chicago's official Tech Plan to identify "innovation zones" within the city.
"(Driverless cars are) something that we definitely want to be on the forefront of because we think it's going to be a really good way to alter our traffic patterns and realize some of the congestion situations we know challenge our residents here in the city," Berman told us last year.
The ordinance from Beale and Burk--both of which have been vocal opponents of Uber's ride-sharing in Chicago--said the ban would apply to both companies and residents who attempt to operate autonomous vehicles. Violators would face $500 fines, according to the Sun-Times.
Image via Uber
