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Tulsa Ranked 10th Top U.S. City for Autonomous Vehicle Deployment

Michael Shick

A study says Tulsa is the 10th best U.S. city for a certain kind of self-driving cars.

The recommendation comes from a review of trip, parking and congestion data by Inrix, and the study focuses on shared vehicles — think self-driving shuttles or Ubers. Autonomous Vehicle Strategist Avery Ash said that means they’d be best deployed staying within a certain radius of downtown or similar core area.

"You start to lose the benefits from these vehicles if they're traveling out into the suburbs, if they're unable to match up lots of shared trips, so, if you've got these vehicles with just a person or two inside of them or, in worst-case scenario, actually empty," Ash said.

The study doesn’t say exactly what part of Tulsa would be best served by the vehicles. Inrix identified specific areas of Austin, Texas, by looking at demographic data like poverty levels, population younger than 16 or older than 65, and areas with a high degree of "mode share."

"So, users that aren't already kind of committed to having a car and driving to work are going to be most willing to use another transportation method, whether that's public transportation, biking, walking or a method like autonomous vehicles," Ash said.

If city leaders are convinced autonomous vehicles will benefit Tulsans, it’s time to ask themselves a question."'How do we get them on Tulsa roads?' Ensuring that infrastructure is well-maintained and meets thresholds necessary to allow these vehicles to operate safely and effectively," Ash said.

Self-driving cars tend to rely on street striping and signage to operate safely, so those would need to be improved.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.