Utah’s government stakeholders and community embrace connected and autonomous vehicles

Utah Department of Transportation’s (UDOT) strategic plan for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) includes an effort to demonstrate the operational characteristics of an autonomous, electric shuttle. Working with EasyMile, UDOT and the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) are using the EZ10 at 10 locations over 12 months around Salt Lake City. Different use cases and customer types are included, namely a business park, university campus, hospital, mall, etc.

The UTA is exploring ways to enhance their transport services and customer experience using the EZ10 as a first-last mile connection and community service solution. Utah’s local leaders are eager to experience CAV technology so they can better prepare their communities and also their governance of CAVs while building public awareness and understanding.

Taking on challenges to promote new services through technology

Airports like Narita International all share a number of pain points:

• The cost of labor is high
• There are driver shortages
• Business can be low-margin

Plus, they need to keep up with the latest technology.

Air transport players need to improve cargo and baggage handling performance at airport hubs. By automating these flows, they can also better focus on decision-making and other actions, saving time and increasing efficiency across the board.

Around 5,000 luggage tractors are sold to airports per year worldwide, with the biggest airports making hundreds of purchases. Electrification is ongoing in this segment and is growing rapidly at about 15% per year. Considering global growth in air traffic and the new airports and terminals being built in the next 10 to 20 years, the TractEasy is key for this market.

Introducing autonomy to the airport’s innovation group and general public

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is using this pilot as an opportunity to learn about driverless technology and understand potential additional applications throughout the airport. Future opportunities at DFW include additional passenger transport locations in addition to baggage transport airside and/or landside. 

Retirement village required a flexible mobility solution 

The BusBot Project is a collaboration operated in partnership with Busways, Transport for NSW, Coffs Harbour City Council, EasyMile, Via, and Papercast, providing a door-to-door, driverless, on-demand service to the residents of the Marian Grove retirement village. Elderly residents are able to use a smartphone or a landline to order a vehicle to pick them up and connect them to key areas. This gives residents their independence, enables social inclusion, and a better lifestyle. The integration of autonomous and on-demand technology in a live service, as well as better serving an older population through new mobility solutions, are key benefits of this project.

Driverless mobility service for community and spa guests 

EasyMile, in collaboration with ioki, a subsidiary company of Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) has been operating the first autonomous shuttle driving on public roads in the European country since October 2017. For their project in Bad Birnbach, EasyMile and ioki work closely together with the regional bus company (Regionalbus Ostbayern (RBO), the district of Rottal-Inn, TÜV Süd, and the local community.

Cars are traditionally the main way people get around in rural areas, but it is important to offer those living outside of towns and cities an alternative that is convenient, as well as energy and cost-efficient.  Autonomous shuttles are the perfect innovative public transport solution in such rural areas. 

As mobility is one of the major challenges in these environments, driverless technology can respond by overcoming the first-last mile issues it presents. As a rural but also thermal town, Bad Birnbach sees a lot of visitors arriving by train and so the need for mobility is particularly important.

Public transport driverless shuttle service fully integrated in Sweden

Four EZ10 shuttles provide a mobility service within the residential area of Barkarbystaden, located in the Järfalla municipality, close to Stockholm in Sweden. It is the largest new property development in Northern Europe with 10,000 new households. The service is integrated within the transportation offering of SL (the Stockholm public transport authority) and is operated by Nobina, who are the leading public transport operator in the country. Passengers are required to purchase a ticket or validate their travel card to board the service. 

The autonomous shuttles provide a first-last mile service, linking, the residential block to rapid bus transport links and a shopping area. The service has been operating since 2018, 6 days per week. The distance covered by the shuttles is expanding regularly.