#Transportation Technology

Autonomous vehicles were supposed to cut traffic—what if they don't?

Autonomous vehicles are failing to deliver their promised traffic reduction benefits, with Waymo robotaxis showing 44% of miles driven empty—comparable to traditional ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft—undermining a key business case for the technology. This finding challenges the $100+ billion invested in autonomous vehicle development and suggests IT organizations supporting transportation and mobility initiatives should reconsider infrastructure priorities toward public transit solutions, which offer superior congestion reduction at scale. For CIOs overseeing smart city or mobility platforms, this represents a strategic pivot from autonomous vehicle infrastructure investment toward mass transit technology enablement.