Sponsor
Kevin Kiley
Representative · I-CA
Representative · I-CA
The bill accelerates adoption and testing of autonomous shared transit by funding ADS vehicles, software, and objective pre‑delivery testing—improving access and procurement transparency—but does so at public expense and with unresolved risks around safety, long‑term local costs, vendor dependence, and privacy/security.
Transit agencies and local governments can use new federal grants to buy ADS-equipped buses and related hardware/software, accelerating fleet modernization and wider deployment of shared autonomous transit.
The program allows up to an 80% federal cost share and can be combined with other federal funds, substantially lowering upfront purchase costs and increasing flexibility for local projects.
The bill requires objective pre‑delivery testing, a standardized weighted scoring system, and at least one dedicated test facility, improving safety transparency and helping purchasers compare and select more reliable bus models.
The bill authorizes $100 million over two years in new federal spending, increasing taxpayer expense without identified offsets.
Public funding for ADS vehicles, hardware, and proprietary software may disproportionately benefit manufacturers and private vendors, raising concerns about public money supporting private firms and potential vendor favoritism.
Accelerating deployment of SAE Level 3–5 systems and funding autonomous-driving software risks exposing riders, operators, and other road users to safety and liability harms if technology performance, oversight, or regulation lag behind deployment.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Creates a grant program and rule changes to accelerate deployment of shared autonomous buses, allows federal grants to buy/license ADS and monitoring software, and requires testing facilities and scoring for new models.
Official title: To amend title 49, United States Code, to allow certain grant funds issued by the Secretary of Transportation to be used for the deployment and purchasing of technology for certain autonomous shared mobility vehicles, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 7, 2026 by Kevin Kiley · Last progress May 7, 2026
Creates a new competitive grant program to accelerate deployment of shared autonomous buses and similar vehicles, allows federal transportation and infrastructure grant funds to buy or license automated driving and monitoring software, and requires federal testing facilities and updated vehicle acceptance testing rules for new automated bus models. It also expands the federal definition of rolling stock to expressly include autonomous vehicle hardware and software and authorizes $100 million in specified appropriations across FY2027–FY2028 (with multi-year availability). The bill sets timelines (grant program created within 90 days, testing facility for covered shared mobility vehicles in operation by Jan 1, 2027), a rural set‑aside (minimum 15%), federal cost-share rules (up to 80% federal share), and procurement/partnership authorities that allow transit agencies to partner with private manufacturers. It broadly opens major Federal transit and infrastructure grant programs to fund licensed software and software updates for automated driving and vehicle monitoring.