Autonomous Vehicles & the City 2024

Commonwealth Club of California
110 The Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA 94105

Join us for an afternoon focused on automation and innovation for public good. Autonomous vehicles have the potential to revolutionize transportation in our cities, offering increased accessibility and efficiency in our urban transport systems. The 8th Autonomous Vehicles and the City symposium at the Commonwealth Club of California will feature global discussions from senior executives and experts across the AV industry and the public sector. From integrating automation and AI within public transit systems to optimizing resources like curbs and city rights-of-way for autonomous vehicle operations to reduce vehicle miles traveled, the conference will touch on the variety of ways AV platforms are being used to serve diverse populations and help
global cities meet climate goals.

Agenda:

• 1:30 p.m. – Welcome / Overview of Conference
  • Dr. William (Billy) Riggs, Professor at the University of San Francisco and Director of the Autonomous Vehicles & the City Initiative
  • Dr. Otgontsetseg Erhemjamts, Dean of School of Management, University of San Francisco
     
• 1:40 p.m. – Introductory Keynote — AVs and the Future
  Opportunities for the future of automation? 
  • Sharon Giovinazzo, CEO LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired San Francisco
     
• 1:50 p.m. – Roadway management and innovations for public sector integration
  How can we make the best use road of roadways in the context of automation? What does this mean to for curbs and roadway infrastructure? What does it mean for customers of multimodal transport? How can we use roadway networks, parking, and other physical resources to reduce empty miles and total VMT/VKT?
  • Mollie Cohen D’Agostino, Executive Director, Mobility Science, Automation and Inclusion Center (MoSAIC) at UC Davis
  • Arielle Fleisher, Policy Development and Research Manager at Waymo
  • Brook Dubose, Associate Principal and Cities, Planning & Design Leader at Arup
  • Dr. William (Billy) Riggs | University of San Francisco
     
• 2:30 p.m. – Break
   
• 3 p.m. – Insights from European initiatives
  Report about EU deployments and roadmaps for AV mobility services
  • Dr. Henriette Cornet, Professor at the University of San Francisco and Strategic Mobility Consultant
     
• 3:15 p.m. — AV Services, Innovations and Partnerships for Sustainable Transport Futures  
  What is happening to innovate AV services? What are opportunities for transit integration and traffic operations? What are our long-term visions? How can we ensure the most sustainable outcomes for automated and autonomous vehicles in cities?
  • Dr. Henriette Cornet, Professor at the University of San Francisco and Strategic Mobility Consultant
  • Tim Haile, Executive Director of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA)
  • Dr. James Fishelson, Executive Director of PATH at UC Berkeley 
  • Dr. Sven Beiker, Managing Director at Silicon Valley Mobility and Lecturer at Stanford University
     
• 3:55 p.m. — Insights from Student Work
  Presentation of student work related to future AV innovations.
  • TBA
     
• 4:05 p.m. — Closing Fireside Chat
  What pathway is Zoox taking toward autonomous services? What should we expect over the coming years? What is essential for local cities and developments in preparing for and deploying AV operations? What do private companies need for the city to be successful in their operations at various different scales? Where are the opportunities for collaboration?
  • Ron Thaniel, Senior Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Zoox
  • Dr. William (Billy) Riggs, Professor at the University of San Francisco and Director of the Autonomous Vehicles & the City Initiative
     
• 4:40 p.m. — Parting Thoughts and Thanks
  • Dr. William (Billy) Riggs, Professor at the University of San Francisco and Director of the Autonomous Vehicles & the City Initiative 
  • Dr. Michael Goldman, Professor at the University of San Francisco and Associate Dean of Graduate Programs