The announcement that Waymo is coming to our region is an advancement that will greatly benefit the OKI region and our 2.2 million citizens. More than 10 years ago, I said this incredible driverless technology was going to happen far sooner than most industry experts expected. Today it has done just that for our region.
Waymo’s remarkable record of safety, security and efficiency is to be both applauded and viewed with amazement. For too long, its technology has been ridiculed as more Jetson than genuine. To society’s benefit, Waymo persisted and kept their minds and talents aimed at the ultimate goal of producing marketable driverless cars. That goal is simple: For the first time in history, everyone will have mobility when and where they want it. The advantages to commerce and economic growth from exponential increases in freight efficiencies are sky-is-the-limit in nature.
More importantly, autonomous technology will provide mobility to those who thirst for it the most. Consider the elderly, persons with disabilities, the poor, households with zero vehicles, and every person whose life is limited because they cannot get to their doctor, school, the grocery store, a job, or visit their families. These populations will now have options to do so.
What the future brings and when, we cannot know. But, I do remember a decade ago, I was told by the experts of the day that driverless cars would not serve Americans to any degree until 2040 or after. I thought differently and shared that with many audiences over the years. OKI has been consistently at the forefront of pushing the possibilities of remarkable autonomous technology. So, Waymo’s recent announcement it was coming to our region has special meaning to OKI.
We should admire the power of this technology in many regards, and chief among them is the speed with which it can be brought to serve our neighborhoods. The women and men of Waymo who have invested their time, talents, and fortunes have given us a remarkable opportunity to change not just our commutes, but our culture.
200 years ago, Cincinnati was a transportation powerhouse on the banks of the mighty Ohio River. Today, Cincinnati stands ready to advance again the power of a cutting-edge transportation technology that will make our lives infinitely safer, more mobile, more prosperous and better in many other ways.
See you soon and let’s catch a ride with no one behind the wheel.
Mark Policinski CEO of the OKI Regional Council of Governments, a council of local governments, business organizations and community groups committed to developing collaborative strategies, plans and programs to improve the quality of life and economic development potential of Tri-State region.