---
title: "Companies Are Asking Cities to Pay for the Rollout of Self-Driving Cars"
description: "Want autonomous cars in your city? Be prepared to pay up."
date: "2018-12-07"
modified: "2018-12-07"
authors:
  - name: "Stephen Edelstein"
    job_title: "Weekend Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/stephen-edelstein"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/25361/companies-are-asking-cities-to-pay-for-the-rollout-of-self-driving-cars"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Autonomous Cars"
  - "drive.ai"
  - "Rhode Island"
  - "self-driving cars"
  - "Tech"
  - "Texas"
---

# Companies Are Asking Cities to Pay for the Rollout of Self-Driving Cars

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/05/driving-1.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Companies are deploying prototype self-driving cars nationwide [in pilot programs](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/18836/ford-launches-self-driving-car-delivery-service-in-florida>) or, [in the case of Waymo](<https://www.thedrive.com/>), a commercial ride-hailing service. But cities, states, and the federal government are being asked to shoulder the cost of rolling out these vehicles, according to [*Axios*](<https://www.axios.com/who-will-pay-for-autonomous-vehicles-11702624-0fbf-4b5f-9d3a-bf5c4cd3ed8a.html>).

The actual cost to cities for deploying self-driving cars is murky, but [two proposed contracts](<https://www.hgacbuy.org/contracts/documents.aspx?contractid=73>) spotted by *Axios* on the website of the Houston-Galveston Area Council provide figures for two companies: French autonomous-shuttle operator EasyMile, and Silicon Valley-based startup Drive.ai.

EasyMile, which operates small, low-speed electric vehicles, charges $27,000 a month for cities that sign up for one year of service, according to the documents. Cities that sign up for a five-year contract get a discounted rate of $8,000 per month.

Drive.ai, which [operates full-size cars](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/20716/startup-drive-ai-brings-its-self-driving-cars-to-texas>) (its fleet is comprised mostly of modified Nissan NV200 vans), charges $14,000 a month per vehicle for one year of operation, or $12,900 a month for a five-year contract. The city of Arlington, Texas, has already contracted Drive.ai to operate three vehicles in its entertainment district, noted *Axios*. The city will foot 20 percent of the $435,000 bill, while the federal government will cover the rest.

The state of Rhode Island has also committed to pay $800,000 for an autonomous shuttle service launching in its capital city of Providence in 2019. The service will be operated by [May Mobility](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/13694/may-mobility-is-a-new-autonomous-driving-startup-with-realistic-expectations>), which uses low-speed vehicles similar to those of EasyMile. The federal government will also chip in with a $300,000 grant.

However, cities and states that eagerly pay upfront for autonomous cars are outliers. Greg Rodriguez, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer specializing in autonomous vehicles, told the website that most cities think there won't be any costs associated with self-driving car pilot programs. His comments were echoed by Carnegie Mellon Professor Raj Rajkumar, who said he would be "very surprised" if cities pay for autonomous-vehicle services, even at "relatively low prices."

How public funds are spent is always a touchy subject, creating yet another hurdle for self-driving cars. *Axios* noted that autonomous-car pilots could starve [mass transit](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/22914/a-look-at-the-future-of-bostons-subways>) of funding. It's also possible that voters will be unhappy about their tax dollars being spent on experimental self-driving cars. The bottom line is that autonomous-driving tech remains very expensive, and some large source of funding is needed to get it off the ground.

## Author
Stephen has always been passionate about cars, and managed to turn that passion into a career as a freelance automotive journalist. When he's not handling weekend coverage for The Drive, you can find him looking for a new book to read.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/SAEdelstein>)