Liss, Celia

From:

Peduto, Bill

Sent:

Monday, September 19, 2016 4:02 PM

To:

Sullivan, Lara

Subject:

Fw: Upcoming article on Uber self-driving in Pittsburgh potential quote from Mayor

From: Peduto, Bill

Sent: Tuesday, May 24,2016 8:33 AM
To: Acklin, Kevin

Subject: Fwd: Upcoming article on Uber self-driving in Pittsburgh ~ potential quote from Mayor
Kevin please get this letter to the team.
B.

Forwarded message
From:"Ashwini Chhabra" <ashwini@uber.com>

Date: May 23,2016 5:45 PM

Subject: Upcoming article on Uber self-driving in Pittsburgh ~ potential quote from Mayor
To:"Peduto, Bill" <bill.peduto@Dittsburghpa.gov>

Cc:"iennifer.liptakOalleghenvcountv.us" <iennifer.liPtak(S)alleghenvcountv.us>."Kevin Acklin"

<kevin.ackiin(S)pittsburghpa.gov>

Understood. We're, of course, happy to provide a letter of support attesting to Pittsburgh as a

welcoming home for both ridesharing and self-driving research.

i think even outside of these projects or this competition we can do big things around self-driving in
Pittsburgh. Looking forward to working together further.
Ashwini

On Monday, May 23, 2016, Peduto, Bill <bill.peduto@pittsburghpa.gov> wrote:

I don't believe this would hold up In court. Non-autonomous vehicles would definitely sue. Also, people
would rebel that priority is being given to a private company for use of public assets. Giving private

companies over services like snow plowing would guarantee I would be voted out of office. You aren't
offering anything back to the public.

I guess we won't be able to offer a proposal. I hope Austin and Google won't beat us because of this.
B.

On May 23,2016 2:31 PM,"Ashwini Chhabra" <ashwini@uber.com> wrote:

Thanks Mayor. We really appreciate the tremendous effort here.

As I mentioned before, and as I reiterated to Kevin this AM, the

monetary
investment require

,the inability to utilize the busways for developmental testing beyond ACCESS trips, and the need for USDOT approval make this
difficult for us and, given those, we won't be able to participate in these projects
with those restrictions

That said, there may be other ways for Pittsburgh to support self-driving mobility in a way that should be appealing to
USDOT. Uber is testing self-driving cars in Pittsburgh already, but that service could be enhanced tremendously(and
other providers could be attracted to Pittsburgh to provide a similar service) if the city were to
make a handful of modifications to the streetscape to better accommodate the nascent technology. What I would
suggest is that the city
designate a dozen or so
priority
routes

for on-demand self-driving service

that link high-demand areas of the city
and make some

smart infrastructure upgrades that enhance the ability to provide self-driving service along those routes. Those
infrastructure upgrades
would
include:

Non-exclusive access to

certain bus lanes(not busways) this would not be exclusive to any one company, but rather would be for any
providers of on-demand self-driving service

Designation/painting of dedicated lanes in particularly difficult areas and intersections for use
by

on-demand, self-driving cars.

Designation/painting of dedicated pickup-dropoff areas around select spots for on-demand, self-driving cars.
Improved signaling/signage at

certain intersections to optimize movement of self-driving cars.

Installation of DSRC signals that can be utilized by self-driving cars -1 believe this is already part of the city's
Smart Cities application.
Installation of bike lanes on select streets, which

, in addition to promoting bike use,

would
create

an easier/safer environment for self-driving cars.

Non-exclusive access to municipal parking lots to allow staging of self-driving cars while they are awaiting
dispatch

~ understood that there would be some cost associated with this which participating providers would be
expected to bear.

Prioritization of snow removal so as to permit continued service on these routes.

If this Is an undertaking you think the city would be interested in, happy to discuss further how Uber
can support.
Ashwini

On Sat, May 21,2016 at 7:44 PM,Peduto, Bill <blll.peduto@)plttsburghpa.gov> wrote:

Ashwini

Spoke with County Executive, i have copied his chief of staff Jennifer Liptak on this email. Executive

Fitzgerald will be out of the country until Thursday, i have confidence we will be able to work through these
issues and come to an historic agreement the next few days. Here is our response.
There is confusion about the $25 million investment we are asking Uber to make. That project is not
separate from the Busway project. We are asking that BOTH be approved together. The public has spent

hundreds of millions of dollars building a public busway for public transportation. If we are going to allow a
private company to use It, there must be a substantial investment through a public private partnership,to
return to the public.

$25 million builds the connection from Hazelwood to CMU {and connects to East Busway). it allows for
Uber to provide pay service for 5 years along it. Most importantly, it gives Uber exclusive rights to operate
along the busways for five years.$5 million a year to operate the only one of its kind in the world system
and put you in the lead globally, is not a lot to ask as a return to the publics investment.

We will expand the right to operate along the East Busway to Rankin. We will add the West Busway and the

South Busway. All three will be made available to Uber in year one.

There can be no charges along the busways. Uber must provide the service for free. Only Uber autonomous
vehicles, which must be registered with Port Authority, are permitted on busway. No other vehicle can use
it. As stated above the five year fee is part of the $25 million investment. No other charges/fees will be
added for this project.

We will work with Access to increase the number of rides beyond the Uber Health Line. We will get
numbers from Access on Monday so Autonomous Uber Vehicles can be accepted for all of Access unfilled
needs, even those beyond Healthcare. We will get an answer from Access to assure that ADA requirements
are met through Access and are not required by each of the vendors they employ.
Final permission to begin the use of all three busways will be determined by USDOT. By making this part of
our application, we improve the likelihood of being approved immeasurably - it needs to be part of the
proposal,to warrant Executive action. Our goal is to win this challenge in June and then to work directly
with Secretary Foxx over the next two months to get them to sign off. To be certain, in approving our
application,they will be giving their blessing to utilizing the three busways for this project. By partnering

with Access, we are meeting their goal of Social Mobility. Our goal would be to have you on the busways by

October 2016 (earlier if possible).

No details of our application will be publicly available until AFTER the winner has been announced. It is

imperative that we do not tip our hand to the other cities. Rumors are plentiful that Austin and Google will
be presenting a big project - what Secretary Foxx calls the "Pow Factor" he is looking for. Ours hast to be

better for us to win.

Pittsburgh-Uber we have the opportunity to change the world. We just need to get this agreement finished
in the next 72 hours. Easy-peasy.
B.

On May 20,2016 6:24 PM,"Ashwini Chhabra" <ashwini@uber.com> wrote:

Sounds good. I'm around and you can get me on my cell at any time - 917-969-6316.

On Fri, May 20, 2016 at 5:51 PM,Peduto, Bill <bill.peduto@plttsburghpa.gov> wrote:

I will meet with the County Executive and our team. We wiil have answers for you over the weekend.
B.

On May 20, 2016 4:49 PM,"Ashwini Chhabra" <ashwini@uber.com> wrote:

Thanks Mayor and Kevin. We're still discussing internally, but I can share with you some of our
current thinking and some questions we have.

My understanding is that the city's Smart Cities application is due on Tuesday. Do you know if
and when any commitment by Uber in connection with the application becomes public? If we do
engage on these projects, I'll need to coordinate closely with our PR team, and need to know
when that becomes an issue.

Wrth respect to the Health Care Mobility proposal:

In order to justify the investment of resources necessary to do this, we would likely need
to supplement ACCESS trips with some number of non-ACCESS trips for purposes of
developmental testing. Is that possible? And would we be able to charge for the nonACCESS trips, while continuing to provide free ACCESS trips? (I understand that might
impact exclusivity.)

When we discussed, I believe you indicated that the project could be expanded to include
the West Busway. Could that happen simultaneously with the East Busway?
When is the soonest the busway{s) would be available for this use? And, if needed,
could we expand coverage to Rankin sooner than next year?
Do you have data on the number of ACCESS riders and trips along both busways that
you would be looking to Uber to perform? Do you have pickup and dropoff data for those
trips?

With respect to the Junction Hollow Connection project, it's not a definitive decision, but just

want to flag that the $25M investment is likely more than we are willing to make at this time.
I'll share more as our internal thinking coalesces further, but please fee!free to come back on
any of these questions and I'll likewise reach back out with any updates.
Ashwini

On Thu, May 19, 2016 at 9:38 PM,Peduto, Bill <bill.peduto@plttsburghpa.gov> wrote:

Ashwini

If there are any concerns, please let me know tomorrow. We need to finalize both the proposal and
budget. Our 2 projects with your commitment will be the game changer. We can't let this opportunity
to pass us by.
B.

On May 19,2016 8:56 PM,"Acklin, Kevin" <kevin.acklin@pittsburghpa.gov> wrote:

Ashwini -

Great pressi We are thrilled to be a part of this. We can take this partnership to the next level with
our Smart City application; let us know if you have any questions about our proposals. We are
finalizing the application for submission on Tuesday. I'll be on the road over the next few days, so
please respond to me and the Mayor and we wiil follow up to answer any remaining question. Let's
beat Austin, and Google.

On Thursday, May 19,2016, Ashwini Chhabra <ashwini@uber.com> wrote:

Hi all-

You've likely already seen it, but ICYMI just wanted to share the final Tribune-Review piece
(below). It's already seeing national pick-up. And our blog post is here.
Thanks again for your help.
Ashwini

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
http://triblive.eom/news/alleqhenv/10484013-74/drivina-self-car
Pittsburgh streets testing grounds for Uber self-driving cars

City's terrain, weather, chaotic parking make it perfect for trying technoiogy, company exec says
By Aaron Aupperiee

The car took control with the push of a button.

Mathew Priest, the Uber employee in the driver's seat who was no more than a passenger at this point, took his
hands off the wheel and foot off the pedal as the car drove itself east on the 31st Street Bridge.
The Ford Fusion slowed to a stop behind several cars at a red light and turned left onto River Avenue.
Uber is testing its fleet of self-driving cars on the streets, bridges and hills of Pittsburgh, the ride-sharing
company confirmed Wednesday.

The San Francisco-based firm has said little about its progress in developing autonomous vehicles since it
opened the Advanced Technology Center 15 months ago in Pittsburgh's Strip District.
John Bares, head of Uber's Pittsburgh lab, took a Tribune-Review reporter on a ride in a Fusion hybrid that
drove itseif for portions of the trip.

It was the first time Uber allowed a member of the media to ride in a test car in self-driving mode, he said.
"This is super eariy what's the word? nascent technology," Bares said. "In general, this whole set of
sensors is trying to do better than a human."

Uber cars have been spotted on Pittsburgh roads for about a year, mapping the city. Self-driving car test runs

started a few weeks ago. There have not been any crashes involving the cars.

Uber's Fusions are outfitted with cameras, lasers and sensors to help them navigate the city's sometimes tricky

streets. The car used Wednesday had 22 coffee cup-sized camera lenses, a whirling laser on the roof and laser

sensors at the comers. Its cameras, sensors and laser can see more than 100 meters in all directions.
Devoted to robotics

The car is the latest robot in Bares's 35 years of work. A drive to use robots to perform tasks too dangerous for

humans led him to the cavernous former Fudgie Wudgie factory that Uber made Its epicenter for seif-drivinq car

development.

Bares, 53, came to Pittsburgh in 1981 to study at Carnegie Mellon University, where he earned bachelor's and

master's degrees in civil engineering and a doctorate in philosophy. He worked on a robot in 1982 and 1983 that

went into Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station a couple years after its partial meltdown to take photos.
"That was sort of the beginning of the bug in me, that I loved robotics and sending robots to do things that were
dangerous and unsafe for humans," Bares said.