Vancouver gets federal funding to study self-driving vehicles

VPD electric vehicle (Vancouver Police)

The City of Vancouver has been provided with a $386,000 grant to build capacity and study the potential future of connected and automated vehicles.

In a release from the federal government’s Transport Canada ministry, the funding will go towards the study of the fleets of fire rescue, police, Park Board, and the general City fleets. It will explore how self-driving vehicles and connected vehicles can integrate into the transportation network to improve safety and reduce congestion, all the while completely operating on renewable energy.

“Connected and automated vehicle technology has immense potential and will have a tremendous impact on our transportation system,” said Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport.

“This funding will help our stakeholders improve their understanding of connected and automated vehicle technologies, and how to safely and securely integrate them into our road system in order to capture their many benefits.”

Transport Canada has set aside a total of $2.9 million to help Canadian jurisdictions prepare for connected and automated vehicles. As well, it is working with other national governments through the United Nations to create guidelines and regulatory requirements that facilitate innovation and aid the safe creation of automated vehicle features.

Both the municipal governments of Vancouver and Surrey are also finalists for their joint proposal to construct corridors for autonomous vehicles in their jurisdictions. The federal government’s Smart Cities Challenge will award a single top prize of $50 million to the winning innovative proposal by spring 2019.

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