The autonomous bus trial, which will be split into two different phases, will be launched this month
Transit agency Capital Metro announced plans to explore automated vehicle (AV) technology in buses across the city of Austin, Texas, through evaluation demonstrations.
AV tests are expected to be launched during July. If tests are successful, the agency said that it aims to launch a pilot service in the coming months.
“Capital Metro wants to lead the charge — to be among the first transit agencies in the United States to showcase this technology to our ‘smart’ city. I believe this will be the largest public AV bus pilot in the country.” said Randy Clarke, Capital Metro’s president and CEO. “This is an amazing opportunity to better connect our customers and community while also shaping the future of transportation.”
Teams from Capital Metro, RATP Dev USA, the city of Austin and autonomous vehicle manufacturers are working together to launch this pilot.
“Autonomous vehicles are key to providing efficient and effective first-mile, last-mile solutions,” said Blaine Rigler, president of RATP Dev USA. “This project with Capital Metro further solidifies our commitment to bring transportation innovations to Austin that make it faster, safer and easier to move around the city.”
Capital Metro said that the pilot project will have two phases. Under the first phase, the agency will evaluate the performance of different autonomous bus vehicles from a few manufacturers. In addition to analyzing the vehicles, RATP Dev and the vehicle manufacturers will work with city officials to test signal components and on-street performance.
These electric-powered vehicles can carry up to 15 passengers and will be ADA-accessible. Operators will be on board while the vehicles are being evaluated and in service, Capital Metro said.
The testing phase of the project is expected to take up to 60 days. Vehicle safety and the efficiency and performance of battery technology will be examined, the agency added.
The second phase will be initiated while the testing phase is underway. During this phase, autonomous vehicle manufacturers will be able to submit proposals for Capital Metro to lease six vehicles for its in-service circulator pilot.
Capital Metro also said that the selected fleet of pilot vehicles will be in operation late this fall. The vehicles are expected to be in service, picking up and dropping off customers, for a period of 12 months. During this time, the overall customer experience, safety and the public’s reception and adoption of autonomous vehicles will be evaluated.
The agency did not yet determine the specific corridor in which the autonomous buses will operate. However, representatives from Capital Metro have planned for the vehicles to serve City Hall and the Central Library, and help Capital Metro customers make easy connections to other transit services at the downtown MetroRail station and Republic Square.
