Mayor Mark Farrell today convened a safety briefing and roundtable discussion with representatives from autonomous vehicle (AV) companies and City officials to begin an ongoing dialogue regarding the future of self-driving vehicles in San Francisco.

“The safety of our residents will always be my top priority,” said Mayor Farrell. “Autonomous vehicles have the potential to change our streets, but first we must ensure that this technology is completely safe for everyone—our motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists and public transportation passengers. Today’s meeting provided a meaningful opportunity for our public safety officials and autonomous vehicle companies to begin a dialogue on how to bring this exciting new technology to San Francisco in a safe and efficient manner.”

Mayor Farrell hosted the day-long event to educate the City’s public safety community—which includes San Francisco’s first responders, law enforcement and transit operators—on the current state of AV technology and its safety capabilities.

On April 2, the California Department of Motor Vehicles can begin approving applications for testing and deployment permits of AV vehicles, and today’s event provided an opportunity for local safety officials to provide input and hear from the companies as they work to develop their law enforcement interaction plans.  Earlier this month, Mayor Farrell submitted a letter to AV companies, requesting that manufacturers who intend to apply for the self-driving permits participate in a safety briefing in San Francisco.

The day-long event featured a briefing involving safety demonstrations with autonomous vehicles from two manufacturers—Zoox and GM Cruise. Representatives from those companies met with officials from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the San Francisco Police Department, the San Francisco Fire Department, the San Francisco’s Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol.

Later in the day, Mayor Farrell hosted a roundtable discussion between city officials and representatives from transportation companies that are exploring AV technology including, Zoox, GM Cruise, Waymo, Uber, Phantom Auto and Lyft. The meeting initiated a dialogue between City officials and the AV companies, creating a collaborative, working relationship between the two groups.