Where Are Self-Driving Cars Taking Us?

The report examines how autonomous vehicles (AVs) could affect the Washington, DC, metro region by 2040, finding that while pooled AVs and transit investments increase job access, AVs generally increase total driving and disproportionately increase congestion in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color.

• Operating AVs as part of higher-occupancy pooled fleets would more than double the number of jobs accessible by car, whereas non-pooled AVs would increase congestion and eliminate 80 percent of that job-access benefit.
• Investments in mass transit would double the number of jobs accessible via transit and reduce roadway congestion, maintaining a choice between car and mass transit for users.
• The introduction of AVs is projected to increase total driving by up to 66 percent compared to the 2040 baseline, though this increase drops to 46 percent with policies encouraging pooling and transit investment. Without a rapid shift to electric vehicles, this increase in driving would worsen global warming.
• Low-income neighborhoods and communities of color would experience a disproportionate increase in congestion, with exposure to congested driving being 4 to 7 times the projected 2040 regional average and approximately 50 percent higher than the region as a whole, potentially increasing local air pollution if AVs are not electrified.

APA

Richard, E., Martin, J., Catalano, K., & Cohn, J. (2019). Where Are Self-Driving Cars Taking Us? Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/resources/where-are-self-driving-cars-taking-us

Chicago

Richard, Ezike,, Jeremy Martin, Katherine Catalano, and Jesse Cohn. Where Are Self-Driving Cars Taking Us? Union of Concerned Scientists, 2019. https://www.ucs.org/resources/where-are-self-driving-cars-taking-us.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Richard |first1=Ezike, |last2=Martin |first2=Jeremy |last3=Catalano |first3=Katherine |last4=Cohn |first4=Jesse |title=Where Are Self-Driving Cars Taking Us? |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=12 February 2019 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/where-are-self-driving-cars-taking-us |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{richard2019where, author = {Richard, Ezike, and Martin, Jeremy and Catalano, Katherine and Cohn, Jesse}, title = {{Where Are Self-Driving Cars Taking Us?}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2019}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/where-are-self-driving-cars-taking-us}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }