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Article by Paula Gomes, Tennessee Conservative News –
Driverless buses will eventually replace the aging fleet of electric shuttles in Chattanooga.
A $25 million federal BUILD grant from the Department of Transportation will fund the beginning of the overhaul of the electric vehicles, some of which are more than three decades old.
Along with new vehicles, an infrastructure will be built so that the autonomous fleet can communicate with the city’s traffic signals. A new training program will also be created for Chattanoogans who desire to work with the new tech.
Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) CEO Charles D. Frazier says that the future of transportation is being brought to Chattanooga. In order for that to be realized, part of downtown Chattanooga will be turned into a living classroom, as autonomous vehicles are connected through EPB’s community-wide fiber optic network while remaining under human supervision at all times.
EPB began building its network with more than 9,000 miles of lines within Chattanooga’s smart grid back in 2009.
Beep, an autonomous shuttle company, is to operate the first generation of vehicles from a new Mobility and Innovation Command Center housed at CARTA’s Shuttle Park South garage. Operators will monitor the initial three vehicle fleet while handling incidents and tracking performance. Only two of the driverless shuttles will be carrying passengers at first. A third vehicle will be used for testing and training purposes.
The grant will ultimately fund a total of six of the vehicles, the expansion of smart infrastructure that will be needed to support the shuttles, the command center and also a Live-Learning Lab which will be built next door to the new command center. A joint project between CARTA and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), the lab will have students and workers learning the technology as the vehicles traverse the streets of the city.
UTC is charged with developing the curriculum which will train those who want a career in autonomous transit operations and managing emerging transportation command centers.
Mayor Tim Kelly says that the state-of-the-art technology will provide a way for residents to move about the city in a safe and efficient manner.
The present downtown shuttle system has been operating since 1992.
While CARTA hopes to begin procurement and engineering next year. Driverless transit will have to go through a time of testing before anyone is allowed onboard but within three years should be carrying passengers around Chattanooga.
Shuttle rides are expected to be free, as they are now, funded through CARTA’s parking revenue.
Sources:
TennesseeConservativeNews.com.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
