i3 - March/April 2017 - 41

By Izzy Santa

Policy

Q How will partnerships between ridesharing services and traditional automotive
companies continue to innovate mobility?
A We're excited to work with companies
like Volvo to pair our state-of-the-art selfdriving technology with its outstanding
vehicle development and core safety capabilities. Uber has no intention of getting
into the automobile manufacturing business
and these partnerships will be essential to
the success of self-driving.

Q Uber was the first U.S. company to
bring self-driving cars to the public market
through ridesharing. What influence
will public opinion have on developing
self-driving technology?
A Our pilot in Pittsburgh was a big step
forward, as real-world testing is critical
to the success of self-driving technology.
We continue to seek rider feedback on

Q Uber-owned startup, Otto, recently
made the first commercial delivery using
a self-driving truck. How will self-driving
trucks affect American consumers?
A As this technology continues to advance,
I believe we'll see a lot of positive impacts for
American consumers and drivers. The trucking industry has a very long tail of owner
drivers, who work incredibly long hours and

Q How do you expect ridesharing
and self-driving technology to integrate?
Do you expect to see transportation
services become part of the sharing
economy? (i.e., No private vehicle
ownership, shared cars, etc.)
A Uber can help extend the reach of public
transportation by picking passengers up
where trains or buses drop them off, all at no
extra cost to the taxpayer. In outer London,
nearly 30 percent of Uber rides end within
200 meters of a tube or train station during
the morning rush hour.
We've also seen how Uber increases
mobility for everyone, particularly for people
living in underserved areas. Take Manhattan,
where 35 percent of all Uber pickups happen
outside of the borough, compared to just
six percent by traditional yellow taxis. In most
parts of the world, ridesharing has already
made it easier for people to get around without getting behind the wheel. UberPOOL
now accounts for 20 percent of trips in the
32 cities where the service is currently
offered. And by getting more people into
fewer cars, we can reduce congestion and
pollution in our cities.
The opportunity to use cars as a force
for positive change increases as self-driving
cars become a reality. Self-driving technology
holds tremendous potential to improve
road safety. Today, 1.3 million people around
the world die in car accidents every year
with 94 percent of those accidents involving
human error. This is a tragedy technology can
help solve. This technology could also free

their experiences and are pleased with
the Steel City's positive reception to our
vehicles. The promise of self-driving is core
to our mission of reliable transportation,
everywhere for everyone.

have little time to spend off the road. Otto is
focused on automating highway driving which
will help improve safety, make drivers more
productive when they are on the road and
ensure that they get more time off.

up the 20 percent of space in cities currently
used to park the world's billion plus cars.
Creating a viable alternative to individual car
ownership, which self-driving Ubers will be,
is vital to the future of cities. ■

Uber's self-driving cars
take the road in Pittsburgh.

T EC H U P DAT E

Uber's Justin Kintz Talks
with CTA's Gary Shapiro
Almost ten years ago, Travis Kalanick and
Garrett Camp came up with the idea for Uber
after having trouble hailing a taxi. Fast-forward
to today, Uber, an American company, is operating in more than 500 cities worldwide and
employs 6,700 people. As they continue to
grow their ridesharing networks, the company
is setting its sights on self-driving cars. Last year, the company
debuted the world's first self-driving Ubers in Pittsburgh. To tell
us more about their investment and interest in self-driving technology, CEO and President of CTA Gary Shapiro talked with
Justin Kintz, Uber's head of U.S. public affairs.

C TA . t e c h / i 3

MARCH/APRIL 2017

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http://www.Uber.com http://cta.tech/I3
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