Utah Embarks on a Mission to Familiarize Residents with AVs
Small self-driving shuttles will begin traveling through Utah as the state launches a pilot to introduce the technology to residents.
The Utah Transit Authority, in partnership with Utah Department of Transportation, will launch the Autonomous Shuttle Pilot Project. The shuttle will first be deployed at Station Park, a retail complex in Farmington.
A shuttle provided by the company EasyMile, will tour various communities across the state for the next year, said Lisa Miller, outreach and growth manager with the Utah Department of Transportation.
“The goal is to allow as many Utahns to experience the shuttle so they can better understand the technology," said Miller. "Currently, office parks with proximity to transit, hospital campuses, university campuses, special event centers and the Utah State Capitol are tentative deployment locations.”
This AV shuttle program, like many similar projects across the country, will have a human operator on board — which UDoT refers to as a “host” — who is there to answer questions and generally put riders at ease with the technology. EasyMile electric vehicles accommodate about a dozen passengers and travel at speeds up to about 25 mph.
It’s not every day the Lt. Governor of the State of Utah steps in front of your bus. But as expected, the autonomous shuttle stopped in the nick of time!
The small AV shuttles are often viewed as one of the most near-term applications of self-driving car technologies, as the vehicles are being deployed in parking lots, college campuses, government agencies and other locations to offer low-impact transit and help to close first-mile-last-mile gaps.
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