GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Can a shuttle bus without a driver safely travel on the streets of Grand Rapids?
We are about to find out.
Starting in March, for at least a year, a six-passenger electric self-driving van will transport passengers downtown along a 3.2 mile shuttle bus route.
The Grand Rapids Autonomous Initiative is a partnership between the city and businesses. May Mobility, the company behind the autonomous technology, promises it is safe.
“We have got 11 lidars and 10 radars on the vehicle,” explains May Mobility CEO Edwin Olson. “It gives us a 360-degree real time view of where everybody is and what they are doing. Our technology has been proven with over 12,000 rides given to our passengers and they love it.”
The self-driving shuttles will 25 travel miles per hour. An attendant will be on board take the controls if it is ever necessary. And just like the regular DASH shuttle buses, the rides are free.
“This project is probably the beginning of some really large changes we are going to be seeing in the next 10 years about how people get around town and how people view transportation,” says MobileGR director Josh Naramore.“Hundreds of cities are going to be looking at this and watching this project.”
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