Think about places most synonymous with self-driving vehicles, and you?re bound to call to mind testing hotbeds like Silicon Valley and Detroit.
But those aren?t necessarily the places where autonomous cars will bring the biggest benefit. A new study from INRIX, a leading provider of traffic analytics, has ranked U.S. cities based on a number of factors to figure out where their deployment in shared fleets could replace the greatest proportion of travel. The top-ranked for autonomous cars include New Orleans, Albuquerque, and Tucson, Arizona?none of which have seen much in the way of whirring sensors affixed atop vehicles. Among other cities in the top ten are Omaha, Nebraska; El Paso, Texas; and Fresno, California. In other words, none of the usual suspects in the realm of cities vying to brand themselves as advanced-transportation hubs.
?
?We do have this wealth of data that really helps you get

a better understanding of mobility patterns.?
 ? Avery Ash, INRIX

?

While some cities at the forefront of Smart Cities development may already have plans for using autonomous vehicles, the majority do not. This report could spur urban planners and city governments to take a closer look at how the fast-approaching deployment of these vehicles could augment or alter travel on their roads.
The findings could also prod the private sector to look beyond their current testing centers and figure out where they may want to conduct future pilot projects and early deployment efforts.
...