Study: Self-driving cars could ease congestion, add to sprawl

BOSTON» A new study inspired by Boston’s early experiments with self-driving cars finds that the technology could ease congestion, but might lead to more cars on the road and further encourage urban sprawl.

The report, released Tuesday by the Boston Consulting Group and the World Economic Forum, is a mostly optimistic take on how autonomous vehicles could change cities.

Three companies are now testing self-driving cars in Boston’s Seaport District.

One of them, NuTonomy, has also partnered with ride-hailing service Lyft to research how passengers book and route a self-driving car.

The consulting group’s study included a computer simulation of how downtown Boston traffic would change with the advent of self-driving taxis, buses or private cars.

It would likely add vehicles to roads while simultaneously reducing traffic time and cutting pollution because of smoother driving patterns, such as steadier speeds and more gradual

Autonomous cars heading to Big Apple.

DETROIT» Autonomous vehicles are already navigating the verdant hills of Pittsburgh and the pitched avenues of San Francisco. They may soon be tested by the chaos of Manhattan, where pedestrians, taxis, buses and bikes embark daily on an eternal quest to avoid impact.

Cruise Automation, a San Francisco-based self-driving software company owned by General Motors Co., aims to begin testing in New York City early next year. GM and Cruise are applying to operate in New York under a new pilot program announced Tuesday by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

If approved, the tests will mark the first time a fully self-driving vehicle will be allowed to operate in New York state, Cuomo said in a statement.

The test vehicles will be electric Chevrolet Bolt cars equipped with cameras, radar, sensors and Cruise’s software. In New York, a small fleet of cars will operate in a 5-square-mile area of lower Manhattan. They will always have an engineer behind the wheel and an observer in the front passenger seat. Cruise and GM didn’t immediately say how many vehicles will be operating in New York. braking. At the same time, the efficiency and convenience of autonomous technology could encourage more people to live in the suburbs.

“Urban sprawl is definitely one of the biggest challenges,” said Nikolaus Lang, a co-author of the study. “If people don’t really see commutes as a painful exercise, they might tend to live further away.”

The research adds to another study published this month by researchers at the University of California at Davis, who found users of ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft are less likely to use public transit. The Davis study — which looked at Boston and six other metropolitan regions — says that the trend away from public transit could have broader implications once autonomous vehicle technology becomes commercially viable and a feature of ride-hailing apps.