Preparing Jax for Autonomous Vehicles

[SightseerLounge]

"Jacksonville's pilot program has put it on the map for the AV industry. How can it get ready for the changes that are coming?"

French autonomous vehicle maker Navya produced autonomous shuttles currently used in Las Vegas



https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2017/07/28/preparing-jax-for-autonomous-vehicles.html?ana=e_du_prem&s=article_du&ed=2017-07-28&u=HRlpev6rkvjNgW2XoD8chQ027b1fb3&t=1501269891&j=78617001

Is ripping up the Skyway worth installing these autonomous vehicles? It seems like Jax took the easy way out instead of finding new monorail vehicles. These autonomous vehicles are easier to stomach for the JTA instead of doing what other cities are doing by developing modern streetcar, light rail, heavy rail, or Commuter Rail systems!

To me, this is taking the Skyway backwards. The autonomous vehicles have their place, but the Skyway shouldn't be ripped up (again) for this. This is the cheap way out!

[remc86007]

I think it depends on the implementation. If there are enough of these autonomous vehicles at launch and plenty of routes (down to Five Points, up through Springfield, over to the Stadium, etc.) such that people can actually use these as dependable transportation, I think it will be a good investment. If they half-ass it, then it may not be a wise investment. Frequency and reliable hours (including weekends) are critical for success. I'd start using it to get to work downtown from Springfield if it had a stop around Uptown Kitchen on Main Street.

[SightseerLounge]

I think it depends on the implementation. If there are enough of these autonomous vehicles at launch and plenty of routes (down to Five Points, up through Springfield, over to the Stadium, etc.) such that people can actually use these as dependable transportation, I think it will be a good investment. If they half-ass it, then it may not be a wise investment. Frequency and reliable hours (including weekends) are critical for success. I'd start using it to get to work downtown from Springfield if it had a stop around Uptown Kitchen on Main Street.

Yes, if they do this where it operates for longer hours than the current Skyway, then it might be useful. I don't trust Jacksonville to make a common sense decision like that! People suggested for years to extend the Skyway to the Stadium, Shands, Riverside, and West of I-95. This is their answer. Crazy!

[thelakelander]

It would be interesting to see tram versions or AV models that can couple together to increase capacity. It's hard imagining those little things being able to handle a major event at EverBank Field.

[SightseerLounge]

This is the map of JTA's Ultimate Urban Circulator (U2C) modernization and extension of the current Skyway. The autonomous vehicles will be used for this system!

[SightseerLounge]

It would be interesting to see tram versions or AV models that can couple together to increase capacity. It's hard imagining those little things being able to handle a major event at EverBank Field.

Ha! That's exactly what I was thinking! I didn't even check the capacity of these little buses yet. I think the JTA is hanging its hat on the hope that there will be so many of these things running that the headways of the autonomous vehicles will handle the crowds. Poor strategy.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

It would be interesting to see tram versions or AV models that can couple together to increase capacity. It's hard imagining those little things being able to handle a major event at EverBank Field.

Would they have to physically couple?

Couldn't you program 4-5 of them using a similar 'swarm' theory they use in micro-drones?

[thelakelander]

Autonomous is simply a type of technology. You can have an autonomous train, bus or something else capable of carrying larger loads of people than those little pods. Five Ollie vehicles will carry around 60 passengers total. You can carry the same with one articulated bus. A single modern streetcar carries around 150 passengers. So really, it depends on how many people you think you need to move. On the other hand, since AV is a technology, expect to see the types of vehicles available start to diversify as time goes on.

Self-driving cars are either already here or perpetually a few years away, depending on who you ask. Companies like Tesla and Uber are working to build self-driving trucks to ferry cargo across the country. For any given mode of transportation, someone is trying to make it autonomous.

But for one Chinese company, it's not enough to make self-driving versions of the vehicles that already exist. Rail transit company CRRC invented a brand new type of vehicle and then made it self-driving.

The Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART) is some kind of cross between a train and a bus or tram. The ART runs on roads like a bus, but only on designated paths like a tram. It's modular like a train, and carriages can be added or removed to accommodate different numbers of people. Each carriage can fit about 100 passengers.

And of course, the whole thing can run without a driver, although at least for now the ART comes with a stand-in driver for safety. The train-bus hybrid follows a pair of white lines painted on the street and contains a suite of sensors for avoiding obstacles.

The ART is also completely electric, and can get 15 miles on a 10 minute charge. The goal of the project is to create affordable mass transit for cities without enough money to build subways or tram tracks. Instead, the ART costs about as much as a bus, but the hybrid transit vehicle is more reliable and can fit many more people.

The first ART line is currently under construction in the city of Zhuzhou and is expected to become operational sometime in 2018. Now we just have to figure out what to call it.

Full article: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/a26782/china-built-a-self-driving-something/

[SightseerLounge]

Autonomous is simply a type of technology. You can have an autonomous train, bus or something else capable of carrying larger loads of people than those little pods. Five Ollie vehicles will carry around 60 passengers total. You can carry the same with one articulated bus. A single modern streetcar carries around 150 passengers. So really, it depends on how many people you think you need to move. On the other hand, since AV is a technology, expect to see the types of vehicles available start to diversify as time goes on.

Self-driving cars are either already here or perpetually a few years away, depending on who you ask. Companies like Tesla and Uber are working to build self-driving trucks to ferry cargo across the country. For any given mode of transportation, someone is trying to make it autonomous.

But for one Chinese company, it's not enough to make self-driving versions of the vehicles that already exist. Rail transit company CRRC invented a brand new type of vehicle and then made it self-driving.

The Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART) is some kind of cross between a train and a bus or tram. The ART runs on roads like a bus, but only on designated paths like a tram. It's modular like a train, and carriages can be added or removed to accommodate different numbers of people. Each carriage can fit about 100 passengers.

And of course, the whole thing can run without a driver, although at least for now the ART comes with a stand-in driver for safety. The train-bus hybrid follows a pair of white lines painted on the street and contains a suite of sensors for avoiding obstacles.

The ART is also completely electric, and can get 15 miles on a 10 minute charge. The goal of the project is to create affordable mass transit for cities without enough money to build subways or tram tracks. Instead, the ART costs about as much as a bus, but the hybrid transit vehicle is more reliable and can fit many more people.

The first ART line is currently under construction in the city of Zhuzhou and is expected to become operational sometime in 2018. Now we just have to figure out what to call it.

Full article: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/a26782/china-built-a-self-driving-something/

Now, if Jax had this as the Skyway replacement, I wouldn't mind that! It would make sense to do this to justify the cost of System Expansion in this town that tries to be a big city! This is something along the lines of what I was thinking of with the First Coast Flyer. This would make sense for now!

[thelakelander]

That particular vehicle may be too wide and heavy for the existing guideway, but it is an example of how autonomous technology can be integrated into public transit. It's also an example that we're not limited to the vehicles that have been illustrated to date. It's basically the same thing JTA wants to do, AV on its own dedicated ROW, except the vehicles can move larger crowds and the design will appeal to more choice riders. If it is as affordable and cost effective as they're promising, I suspect we'll see more development and advancement in this type of public transit alternative as various agencies get more comfortable with the technology.