The federal government is spending $100,000 to examine whether self-driving vehicles could eliminate Canadian jobs and create new economic risks, despite earlier government research showing widespread public distrust of the technology.Blacklock's Reporter says Transport Canada has commissioned a study examining the potential costs, benefits and employment consequences of introducing connected and automated vehicles on Canadian roads.The research will assess everything from job displacement and environmental impacts to the economic opportunities created by driverless cars and trucks.“The purpose of this research is to assess the potential economic costs, benefits, opportunities, risks and labour impacts associated with connected and automated vehicles in Canada,” the department said in a notice to contractors.The study, titled Economic Analysis Of Connected And Automated Vehicles In Canada, will also examine factors that could influence the adoption of the technology.Transport Canada acknowledged that while automated vehicles could significantly change how Canadians travel and goods are delivered, the technology carries substantial financial and employment risks.“Automated vehicles are expected to transform the movement of people and goods,” the department said.However, officials warned that introducing driverless vehicles could require significant spending while threatening jobs in certain industries.“There are also costs associated with automated vehicles including high upfront investment requirements, potential job displacement in certain occupations, environmental impacts associated with increased vehicle usage or energy demand, and uneven distribution of benefits across sectors and regions,” the notice stated.“The assessment should also consider potential trade-offs.”The department said a comprehensive economic review is needed to determine whether the promised benefits of automated transportation outweigh the potential costs.The latest study follows years of federal research showing Canadians remain skeptical about allowing computers to control their vehicles.A 2021 Transport Canada public opinion study found many drivers were uncomfortable with fully automated vehicles and questioned whether the technology could safely replace human judgment.“Until more Canadians are convinced fully automated vehicles make our roads safer it is unlikely comfort with riding in such a vehicle will increase,” researchers concluded.“Also contributing to Canadians’ lack of comfort riding in a fully automated vehicle are concerns about cybersecurity.”.The federal government paid polling firm Ipsos $98,158 for the research, which involved interviews with 2,500 drivers.Researchers found Canadians were concerned not only about fully driverless vehicles but also about computerized safety features already available in conventional cars.Technology such as automated parking systems and blind spot warnings sometimes left drivers feeling they had less control over their vehicles.The report said such features “can at times fuel a perceived loss of control and, more precisely, the ability to make snap decisions on their own.”“These feelings tend to be driven by a relative mistrust in the underlying technology that powers these systems,” researchers wrote.An earlier federal study in 2019 also found substantial public resistance to automated driving.The report, Canadians’ Awareness Of And Confidence In Automated Vehicles, found only about one-third of Canadians felt comfortable riding in a self-driving vehicle.“Canadians are considerably more likely to be apprehensive about these technologies than to be welcoming of them,” researchers concluded.They suggested reports of crashes involving automated vehicles and concerns about cybersecurity could be contributing to public anxiety.“Potentially because of negative media stories about these, such as crashes or potential cybersecurity risks, there is understandable anxiety about mainstream adoption of automated vehicles,” the report stated.When respondents were asked whether riding in an automated vehicle would be relaxing or stressful, just 13% described the experience as relaxing.Concerns about the reliability of computerized driving systems were particularly widespread.The survey found 65% of respondents feared computer failures, while 50% worried about how automated vehicles would perform during Canadian winters.Those concerns persisted despite widespread familiarity with existing driver-assistance technology, including automatic parking, backup warning systems, blind spot monitors, lane-assist features and forward collision warnings.The new $100,000 economic study will examine the broader implications of automated vehicles, including the potential for workers in transportation-related occupations to be displaced as the technology becomes more widely used.Transport Canada said the research must also consider whether economic benefits would be distributed evenly across Canadian industries and regions.The study comes as Ottawa continues examining the future of automated transportation while its own research suggests many Canadians remain reluctant to surrender control of their vehicles to computers.
