An association of transit and transportation agencies has formed the
Automated Bus Consortium (Consortium), a collaboration designed to
investigate the feasibility of implementing pilot automated bus projects
across the United States. Created by AECOM, a premier fully integrated
infrastructure firm, the Consortium is a first-of-its-kind approach to
accelerate the deployment of automated transit technologies and will
combine the purchasing power and collaborative decision-making of these
founding transit agencies nationwide. The pilot projects will use
full-sized, full-speed buses and enable Consortium members to
collectively demonstrate and deploy automated technologies in live
service environments.
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The pilot projects will deploy full-sized, full-speed buses in live service environments. (Photo: Business Wire)
The Consortium’s founding members include the following U.S. transit and
transportation agencies: Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART); Foothill
Transit; Long Beach Transit (LBT); Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (Metro); MetroLINK (Moline); Metropolitan
Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA); Michigan Department of
Transportation (MDOT)/Michigan’s mobility initiative, PlanetM; Minnesota
Department of Transportation/Rochester Public Transit (MnDOT); Pinellas
Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), and Virginia Department of Rail and
Public Transportation (DRPT)/Hampton Roads Transit.
Consortium members will define candidate deployment routes and
locations, operating plans, automated bus specifications, financial
plans and deployment strategies. AECOM will manage the planning,
assessment, implementation and evaluation of the program’s rollout in
all locations. The Consortium will make an expected initial purchase of
75 to 100 full-sized, automated buses. By joining the Consortium, the
cost of conducting local automated bus projects should be reduced for
each agency. Lessons learned and best practices from each pilot project
will be shared among member agencies to promote better and faster
learning and adoption of safety protocols and operational insights. The
Consortium’s plan calls for a 12-month feasibility phase, followed by
implementation within a two-year time frame, currently estimated to
begin between 2021 and 2022. Each agency will make their own decisions
regarding future additional automated bus purchases and deployment
following the completion of the feasibility phase.
AECOM will host an industry forum in Detroit, Michigan, on September 12,
2019, to create and facilitate opportunities for Consortium members to
meet technology companies and bus manufacturers to discuss the
development of program specifications for automated buses for each
region’s pilot project. By bringing together transit and transportation
agencies, technology partners, and bus manufacturers, the Consortium
looks to shape the future of commuter bus transportation and be in a
position to leverage and validate the technologies and protocols needed
to improve safety, reliability, operating efficiency and rider
experience.
About The Automated Bus Consortium: With rapid advancement of
driverless technologies and the urgent need to improve mobility options
while safely and effectively mitigating congestion in cities across the
United States, the Consortium’s collaborative effort to leverage its
combined resources and launch its pilot deployment program of full-sized
buses is groundbreaking. Using cost-efficient and standardized
methodologies and assessment, the Consortium will lead the nation’s
effort to test and evaluate driverless bus technology.
Learn more about the Consortium, the Detroit industry forum and
meet the founders at www.automatedbusconsortium.com.
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