Pilots, Pods, and AV Shuttle Sales

Texas: Houston's public transit agency, METRO, announced that its board has approved an AV pilot with one of those cute AV shuttle companies for the Texas Southern University campus. A METRO employee will be on board the AV shuttle, but the shuttle will NOT operate on a public road and will not be on a road with any vehicles, only with pedestrians and bikers. "METRO hopes a successful test of the technology could lead to customers using the autonomous vans as a connection to major transit locations."

Texas Southern University is a historically black college with approximately 10,000 students. It is a major Texas provider of higher education for African Americans and latinos. Considering how underrepresented minorities are in the tech world generally and in AV development in particular, this is a good step. It also is nice to see a transit system actively participating in the first steps and planning for AVs as part of a city's mobility network. This is the exception rather than the rule.

UK: As part of the Leeds Digital Festival, a demo is going on in Leeds of four-seater AV pods; these cute little vehicles will be part of a trial in Leeds to begin sometime in the next few months. The Lake District (isn't that one of those places that Jane Austen's characters visit?) is the site of an ongoing pilot at a national park. I do not believe, however, that Colin Firth will be appearing near or taking a ride on the AV shuttle.

[For Jane Austen fans: Yes, indeed, Elizabeth Bennet, in Pride and Prejudice, visits the Lake District, where she tours Darcy's enormous home. She is in the company of her aunt and uncle.]

New Zealand and Korea: A New Zealand AV shuttle company has a buyer in South Korea for a bunch of its cute shuttles. The Korean buyer is a company developing a smart city. It is selling 150 of its 20-person shuttles, with capacity to extend to 40 riders. The company, Ohmio Automation, a subsidiary of HMI Technologies, has already begun testing and regular service is planned at Christchurch Airport; that's in New Zealand.