Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure receives grant to increase public engagement on automated vehicles

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The City of Pittsburgh Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) recently received a major new foundation grant to increase public engagement and outreach related to the testing and deployment of automated vehicles.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is committing $410,539 to DOMI. The grant is for three years starting in late 2019.

“This generous grant will allow the City to offer authentic participation by the public on autonomous vehicle policies, testing, and deployment,” DOMI Director Karina Ricks said.

The city is receiving funding as part of its participation in a Knight Foundation program along with the cities of Detroit, Mich., San Jose, Calif., and Miami, Fla.

The grant follows the release last month of DOMI’s first summary of findings on autonomous vehicle testing in the city. The summary includes data on the kinds of vehicles being tested around Pittsburgh, in what neighborhoods they’re being tested, the safety measures being taken and job creation by the industry.

Five entities — Aptiv, Argo AI, Aurora Innovation, Carnegie-Mellon University, and Uber — are currently testing automated vehicles in the city.