Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) will be at the forefront during the “Made in America: Next Generation Shuttles and the Future of Shared Use Autonomy” at the inaugural Public Transit Conference (PTC), which will be held in conjunction with the Government Fleet Expo and Conference (GFX) in Louisville, Ky., May 7-10.

The informative session will be moderated by Scott Belcher, executive director for ACES Mobility Coalition and feature Coalition for Reimagined Mobility’s (ReMo) Allante Whitmore, the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority’s (LYNX) Doug Jamison, and Beep’s Mark Klein.

AVs Entering a New Era

AV shuttles have been in the pilot phase for some time in various applications but are beginning to take hold as a viable mobility option.

In cities including Orlando, Fla.; Houston, and Jacksonville, Fla., AVs are being looked at as possible long-term solutions to ongoing mobility solutions.

In Orlando, for instance, the City of Orlando, recently launched a six-month autonomous shuttle pilot program in partnership with LYNX and Beep Inc.

The approximately one-mile route has five stops connecting LYNX Central Station and SunRail to UCF/Valencia Downtown, Luminary Green Park, Electronic Arts, and Parramore and Creative Village residents and businesses.

In October, Beep’s Moye emphasized how all parties involved in the pilot program were excited to expand accessibility in Orlando.

“LYNX has been relatively innovative as it relates to some of the routes that they've tried to deploy both short haul and long haul,” Moye says. “One of the big challenges is that it's typically not easy to get down to downtown areas. Both LYNX and the city have a real ambition for extending accessibility and mobility across the city. These arterial services, as represented in this route, are a natural extension of public transit and fill a really important gap in smaller-form factors that are smaller than buses.”

Meanwhile in Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority and Florida State College at Jacksonville are launching AVs on FSCJ's downtown campus, becoming the first college campus in the state of Florida to receive autonomous shuttles for students and visitors.

The launch of the electric and autonomous platforms builds upon years of testing and validation done by JTA at the FSCJ Cecil North Campus test and learn track and at the Armsdale Test and Learn Center. Both facilities are devoted to evaluating the “best of breed” autonomous technologies ahead of Phase 1 of the U2C, known as the Bay Street Innovation Corridor, in 2025.

Central to AVs evolution is the growing move toward meeting Buy America standards, with current vehicle providers looking to begin building the vehicles here in the U.S. through partnerships with other technology providers.

PTC’s session will touch on all of these topics and more.

PTC at GFX

AVs join a program that includes employee recruiting/retention, cybersecurity, and an informative Leadership Roundtable with TransPro Consulting’s Mark Aesch as just some of the topics on tap for PTC, which is hosted by METRO Magazine.

Registration is now open for this one-of-a-kind event. Save $200 with the Early Bird discount until April 5, 2024.

Stay tuned for even more announcements about the PTC’s educational program, the shared show floor with GFX, and much more.