Autonomous Delivery Vehicles: Why You Should Care and What You Should Do

Imagine . . . Imagine ordering your groceries online and having them brought to your door by an autonomous vehicle. Imagine having your pizza dropped off by a robot. Imagine having your prescription shipped across the country in a self-driven semi-trailer, then delivered from the pharmacy to your front step aboard an aerial drone. This is not the future; it is the present. For urban mobility policymakers this new reality is both exciting and anxiety-provoking. Autonomous delivery vehicles (ADVs) offer the promise of less congestion and greener shipments, critical as the volume of deliveries skyrockets. Simultaneously, ADVs raise concerns about safety and use of road and sidewalk infrastructure. There is also the risk of highly efficient delivers hollowing out brick and mortar retail and dining in communities. This policy brief provides an overview of the current ADV offerings, their impact on urban mobility, and a path forward for policymakers to tap the benefits and minimize the risks of this new technology.