By Raymond Viger
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is trying to chase cars out of the downtown area. It’s a short-term vision for saving the environment.
It’s not the vehicles you have to get rid of downtown – it’s the drivers!
To do this you have to invest in autonomous self-driving vehicles. Those are 100% electric vehicles capable of driving themselves, with no human behind the wheel. Connected to a central terminal, these cars and trucks would coordinate their movements to better plan traffic flow.
There are several advantages to using autonomous vehicles. To name just a few:
– Fewer road accidents, fewer injured and dead.
– Reduction of our dependence on oil.
– Reduction of air pollution from gasoline.
– Greater autonomy for aged and handicapped persons.
– Reduction of the cost of transport for families.
– No more need for a family to have two or more cars.
– Flexibility of choice of vehicle to suit individual needs.
– Ease of carpooling.
– Reduction of traffic jams.
– Ease of finding the best route.
I like to remember that in 1963, John F. Kennedy, in the middle of a space race with the Russians, urged his country to land a man on the moon and bring him back safely to Earth before the end of the decade. In only six years the United States met the challenge. In July of 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin succeeded in getting to the moon and back aboard Apollo 11.
Today, over a half century later, with more advanced technology, aren’t we able to meet a new challenge: to make people autonomous and reduce pollution? To work towards the goal of a cleaner, fairer society?
Some say they won’t buy an autonomous car for themselves because it’s too expensive. The idea is to not own a vehicle at all. A service similar to Communauto would send us a vehicle when we need one. We’d only pay for the trip we made. When the trip was over, the vehicle would be sent to another client. No more impractical trips downtown when we leave our car sitting uselessly, parked. Autonomous cars would be in constant movement.
Let’s talk about finances. Families would no longer have to invest in one or two vehicles. They’d remove a huge burden from their budget.
Businesses and municipalities would also save a lot of money. No more metro drivers, bus drivers, or truck drivers to pay. All of their transport would become autonomous and driverless!
Police would no longer be busy arresting drunk or dangerous drivers. Autonomous cars respect the rules of the road.
Imagine yourself in an autonomous car on the way to work. You could do some work to get a step ahead of things when you make it to the office. You could relax and not worry about traffic. If you were with your family, you could plan your next vacation and do some research with your loved ones…
Valérie Plant, in making downtown a haven for cyclists and pedestrians, is making a grave mistake. She forgets that not all citizens can travel by bicycle or on foot. The Island of Montreal is 50 km long and 16 km wide. Sometimes it is covered by ice and snow. And we’re supposed to walk or ride a bike!!! Be realistic. Work on a plan that could be applied quickly, and that will be efficient.
Autonomous automobiles already exist. They travel around in several cities, proving beyond doubt that this project is viable. They’ve driven millions of kilometres to demonstrate their reliability. The only obstacles left to overcome are:
– Citizens’ fears of a transport system where they don’t control all the manoeuvres.
– Drivers’ dependence on the need to drive a vehicle, often in a reckless manner.
– And, worst of all, politicians’ lack of confidence in this new technology, which could change our mode of urban transport.
Illustration: Cyann Gandon
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