While the province debates how to best catch regulations up to ride-hailing technologies like Uber, the City of Vancouver is looking further into the future.

On February 23, council will vote on whether to ask staff to report back on how the rise of driverless cars will impact Vancouver.

“Driverless or autonomous vehicle technology is now progressing so rapidly that Ontario has permitted testing of such vehicles in 2016 and may allow regular use in the near future,” reads a motion brought forward by Vision Vancouver councillor Geoff Meggs.

“The widespread implementation of this technology, which several manufacturers have indicated that they expect to have fully automated vehicles available by 2020-2025, is forecast to reach as much as 75 percent of sales by 2040.”

The motion states that city staff should investigate the technologies’ impacts on the city, both positive and negative, and recommend how city planning can maximize potential benefits.

It also asks staff to report back on how driverless cars will effect existing land-use, economic, and sustainability plans, and how those documents should be updated to take the emerging technology into account.