Ford and
Washington, D.C., have agreed to start the first tests of autonomous vehicles in the district by establishing a self-driving vehicle business.
Ford’s partners at Argo AI, which is
developing a self-driving system, already have vehicles on district streets, mapping roads as the first step to testing in autonomous mode, according to a blog post by Sherif Marakby, CEO of Ford
Autonomous Vehicles LLC.
“The advent of self-driving vehicles promises a chance to make it more affordable and easier for people to get to jobs by filling gaps in access to public
transportation, new ways to deliver food and other products, and more,” Marakby stated. “It also means change,and how we prepare for that change will greatly impact people and their
communities.”
Ford intends to work with local officials to test self-driving vehicles in all eight of the district’s wards with plans for deployment of commercial service in 2021.
Ford will train vehicle operators, who will be responsible for operating and monitoring test vehicles on public roads and closed courses during the development process, according to the company.