Be a STAR

Strategic planning

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has released a five year strategic plan - not to be confused at all with former Soviet five year plans - called STAR, which stands for Strategic Transit Automation Research. I guess the nature of plans is to assume linear development that progresses in a rational and even manner and this is certainly the case with the FTA's STAR plan. To give FTA credit, the agency is earnestly trying to help transit systems and communities to adjust to a world with both new technology and travel modes that blur what were once very clear lines.

The STAR plan will be carried out from FY 2018 through FY 22, with low-speed autonomous vehicle (AV) demonstration projects to commence in the second year of the plan. The plan includes traditional transit, old on-demand modes, and newer on-demand and other shared-use services, including, but not limited to (one needs a legal degree to use that phrase), paratransit, ridehailing, and bus rapid transit. STAR loosely defines a bus “to consider a range of sizes and passenger capacities, and could include both traditional and novel vehicle designs (e.g. full-size city buses, articulated buses, and small shuttles).” Paying close attention to the parentheses in that definition, it is clear that FTA is acknowledging the blurriness of distinctions evolving, even being erased, within transit and between transit and legacy on-demand modes of paratransit, community transportation services, and taxis/ridehailing.

FTA is also including in STAR labor questions relating to transit’s workforce and automated operations related to maintenance, yard, and parking.

In the meadow, we can build a snowman ... 

As we speak, it seems, advances are happening. One big concern for AVs is snow and its close cousin, ice. But snow is not scary for Finland's prototype autonomous car.  It bears the cute name of Marti and its city slicker companion is named Marilyn. Marti is already driving than most people on icy roads in a winter wonderland, albeit at a slow pace. I would not want it otherwise. Why would anyone expect any vehicle to speed along in those conditions?

I can't resist including the song. It's better audio than the Marti video.

Happy last day of Hanukkah and an early fabulous winter soltsice, which is tomorrow. I'm pretty sure there will be something to write about by Christmas, but just in case, have a fun and very merry Christmas as well. Now I can't stop humming the winter wonderland song.

Transit Pulling Ahead

Reading the news on autonomous vehicles (AVs), everyday I am seeing more shared-use, transit, and transit-like AVs. These pilot programs are spreading quickly. Slow, fixed-route - or limited radius - AV shuttles have captured the imagination of places in the United States that are (1) NOT our major cities, meaning places without strong transit unions, and (2) NOT transit rich. Indeed, in at least one spot, AV shuttles will used to ferry people to and from parking lots.

Most of the AV shuttles are manufactured by Navya and EasyMile, though there are other companies in the game and some homegrown, usually university-developed, shuttle vehicles.

Down under, over to Far East, and towards the West

Perth, Australia has an AV transit shuttle service - open to the public - that just turned one year old. The Navya shuttle, called Arma, operates on public roads. The shuttle reads signs and turns right. Unlike human drivers, it regularly improves due to software upgrades. [See photo.]

Singapore will have AV ridehailing in mid-2018 via a partnership with nuTonomy. Unknown is whether a local ride hailing company will be involved. This city-state is already ahead of the curve on AV testing and is currently well in the lead in terms of AV-related urban planning. (Lots more on that topic in a blog post soon.)

Helsinki, Finland has an AV shuttle as a regular service - NOT a pilot project. Finland's pilots have used the EasyMile EZ10 for AV service and that tradition continues with the Helsinki shuttle.

Tallinn, Estonia recently saw the end of a month-long AV transit shuttle pilot that was open to the public. This project also used EasyMile vehicles. There are already plans to bring the AV transit option back to Estonia, but next time to a different city and not until next summer. A leading Estonian transportation official is pushing for Estonia to move forward with AVs generally.

Go west young shuttle

Michigan: Ann Arbor, home of Big Ten school University of Michigan (UM) and the MCity AV testing facility (and not far from the American Center for Mobility testing facility in Ypsilanti, Michagan) is about to host an AV shuttle on a two-mile route between engineering buildings at UM's North Campus. The shuttle vehicles are manufactured by Navya and they carry up to 15 passengers. Rides will be fare free and the AV shuttle will operate during the university's business hours (not intended for late-night studying or as a drunk bus).

Texas 

Texas A&M has a homegrown AV shuttle on campus for Howdy Week. The plan is to have 15 of these shuttles in operation by the end of the spring semester, meaning by May.

Arlington, Texas  has a pilot AV shuttle program that began on Aug. 26 and will continue through mid-2018. The shuttle will provide AV transportation around the Arlington entertainment district and to Texas Rangers and Dallas Cowboys games on game days and when concerts and other events are held. EasyMile shuttle vehicles will be used. Arlington is already considering expanding the use of AV transit shuttles beyond the pilot project. The vehicles hold 12 passengers, according to one enthusiastic report.

California

San Jose Airport is testing an EasyMile shuttle vehicle and hopes to use it for ferrying travelers and workers around the airport. The wish list includes an AV shuttle to transit and a dedicated lane on public roads. A local article about the project does a nice job of explaining the huge quality-of-life implications for people with disabilities and older adults.

San Ramon, CA, home of the Bishop Ranch office campus has an AV shuttle pilot program that is designed for ferrying office workers.  The AV shuttle became a local celebrity when it was featured as the grand marshal of the Concord, CA, July 4th parade. EasyMile shuttle vehicles are being used.

Apple is floating the idea of an AV shuttle for employees. No word on timing or which company will be supplying the shuttles.

Colorado: Denver's transit system is planning for cute AV shuttles for first and last mile connection to transit. RTD, the transit agency, was testing the EasyMile EZ10 in a giant parking lot. If you watch the video, just note that the snarky New Yorker reaction is that unless this vehicle has a dedicated lane or a built-in "oh no you don't" feature, in a busy city pedestrians will eating this adorable vehicle for lunch. You cannot combine a courteous, safe vehicle with a nasty, walking Brooklynite.

MaaS on the menu - tea leaf of expected profitable service

None other than Ernst & Young (really called EY), a large multinational accounting firm, has developed a Blockchain platform, called Tesseract, for managing fleets of AVs. The firm sees mobility as a service - or MaaS - somewhere on the expected horizon. From what I understand, which is little, about Blockchain, also used for bitcoin transactions, it is nearly unhackable and it is instantaneous. Evidently, EY sees money in this and has confidence that MaaS will emerge with sharing of different types of AVs, and differently-owned vehicles.

People with disabilities: AV transportation equity

Australia, like the US, a country of long distances, has a company about to pilot AV pods for older adults. Called Pod Zero, and manufactured by UK-based company RDM Autonomous, the pilot will only offer transportation on local roads within some elder communities owned by IRT, an Australian company. (For you older New Yorkers or subway history buffs, this company appears to have no relation to IRT train lines, such as the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.) According to RDM, Pod Zero "is currently built in two variants – four-seater and eight-seater – and offers an operating speed up to 15 mph, multiple battery options up to eight hours or 50 miles, wheelchair accessibility and air conditioning."

Pod Zero will launch in November at an aging and information technology conference.

Autonomous wheelchairs are being tested and plans so far are for use in hospitals and airports. Though this wheelchair comes out of MIT research, the pilots are in Singapore and Japan.

Fare free for a price

Under the category "you get what you pay for," ideas for how businesses will make money off of AV transportation are growing. One idea floating around is that AV service, perhaps shared-use ridehailining trips, will be free - actually "sponsored" - by a local business, maybe a restaurant that wants your patronage. Other ideas revolve around fare free because transportation will be a cheap perk to deliver in exchange for valuable data. Sorry, forgot to get a link for this.

OMG, can't believe someone just said this - try being in a wheelchair for a few days

Below is a quote from a Mother Jones post that shows how people totally do not get the need for accessibility. It's as if the writer and like-minded individuals assume that all people with disabilities have extra cash to pay for personal service and that they don't deserve transportation equity. I agree with the point of the post, to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good, BUT people with mobility challenges - by they mothers with strollers or grandfathers with wheelchairs or cousins with intellectual disabilities, should not have to continue to be second-class transportation citizens. (I include the mother because so many parents develop back problems during the car-seat years. Why can't we have cars in which you can just roll in a stroller?)

No, we don’t need to deal with the problem of seniors and disabled passengers before it becomes an issue. Why would we? The market will almost certainly take care of this. Maybe companies will spring up that maintain human drivers, or that offer to have a human accompany the car to help you load your luggage or get your wheelchair into the trunk. Maybe driverless taxi companies will include this as an option. Or something. This is a no-brainer. [Emphasis added.]

So if you are an affluent person with a disability, no worries. But if you can't afford to pay twice as much for transportation or if you do not want to permanently be stuck at home, sorry. OMG, bad attitude. Maybe it's time to expand the Americans with Disabilities Act to comprehensively include all for-hire and private vehicle transportation. This just gets too hard for anyone marginalized just because he or she uses a wheelchair.

Driverless Testing Spreading Across Globe, US

Transit union drivers, taxi drivers, Uber and other ridehailing drivers, beware. Time now to train for new work. The driverless revolution is coming your way fast.

Literally, it is impossible to take a week off, let alone a decent vacation, from driverless vehicle news because daily there are updates. I'm just catching up after a summer of work and actual vacation travel. Next year, such a schedule could mean I'll miss a sight of the first driverless taxi or ridehailing car in my neighborhood. More likely that will be two years from now. But if I were planning to visit the Netherlands this summer, I could treat myself to a ride on driverless transit.

Catch a ride near some tulips

The Netherlands takes the lead with driverless transit starting in November of this year. The pods are on the roads now being tested and come November they will be shuttling up to six passengers at a time around two towns in the province of Gelderland. (Not sure if there is a connection, but geld, or something close, means money in several languages.) The WEpods will go up to 15 miles per hour (25 kph). Initially, this driverless shuttle will be treated gently; it will not be available during rush hours, at night, or in inclement weather. But you will be able to book it with an app along its initial fixed route.

The Netherlands WEpod follows in the footsteps of CityMobil2, which has operated in towns in Finland and Switzerland. There are also driverless pods at Heathrow Airport outside of London.

And a short trip from London, Oxford, Cambridge ...

In the town of Milton Keynes, in England, two-seater driverless pods are about to be given a trial run. In the works for more than a year, the pilot project will ramp up from three up to 40 pods for ferrying people around and taking lessons for fine tuning regulation of driverless technology.

While in Asia, ...

Singapore did a six-day trial (something biblical here?) a few months ago with tourists as guinea pigs. A large garden that is a tourist destination allowed for pre-arranged rides on the driverless shuttle golf-cart-type vehicle. Turns out that the tourists loved the driverless service and the guinea pigs were safe. 

News from across the pond

New York City is already behind as a DOT connected-car-technology testing site. But it may fall further back in the advent of new vehicular technology because it is planning to test only connected vehicle technology and not driverless vehicles on its streets. That's okay, my home town has a long tradition of launching shows after previews elsewhere. This project goes with the conventional wisdom of most traditional car manufacturers, and perhaps more than a few departments of transportation around the US, that regular cars outfitted with driver warning systems, vehicle-to-vehicle technology, and limited autonomous features will win the war against total driverless - and be safe. I do not believe that someone napping, checking email, or watching a cable show clip will suddenly snap to attention when the car somehow shouts out EMERGENCY! Maybe my reflexes are unusual, though.

On the way to Miami

Other spots to test this same connected-vehicle technology will be Tampa, FL, Wyoming, and Ann Arbor, MI.