BEST PRACTICES
San Francisco, Calif.
Michael Cottle
VP of Sales and Customer Success
Bestmile
T
RANSIT OPERATORS THROUGHOUT
the world are rolling out autonomous
shuttle services, and in the process are
developing solutions that can serve as
playbooks for other agencies. Use cases
for autonomous shuttles include extending
service areas and off ering multi-modal
last-mile services from transit hubs to
homes and offi ces.
Transport Pubics Fribourgeois (TPF),
the public transport operator for the region
of Fribourg in Switzerland, launched
an autonomous shuttle service connecting
the city’s public transit system with the
Marly Innovation Center, a near 100-acre
campus for technology companies that is
about two miles from the nearest public
transit station.
Th e primary objective is “to transport
commuters to their place of employment,”
TPF said when introducing the service.
“Connecting residents in the area to the
urban public transport network is another
objective. Providing service in the fi nal kilometer
TPF selected autonomous shuttles for the
service because it was a more cost-eff ective
way to connect the somewhat remote area
to transit. Th e Innovation Center hopes the
service will attract new businesses by making
it easier for employees to get to work.
Meanwhile at the San Francisco Bay Area’s
Bishop Ranch business park, a sprawling
585-acre campus that is home to 600
businesses and 30,000 employees in San
Ramon, last-mile service from Bay Area
Rapid Transit stations to the campus has
been a persistent bottleneck.
Alex Mehran, CEO of Sunset Development,
which oversees the property, told KGO
7 News, “Today, our BART shuttles come
into Bishop Ranch, and they have to spend
about 15 minutes getting through the ranch.”
STUFF WE HATE:
responds to these challenges.”
MOLD, VIRUSES,
BACTERIA, GERMS,
DUST MITES, ODORS,
ROACHES, FLEAS,
TICKS, BEDBUGS
STUFF WE LOVE:
38 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | JULY/AUGUST 2018
Bishop Ranch partnered with the Contra
Cost Transportation Authority and
autonomous testing facility GoMentum
Station to pilot and get the permissions
needed to off er an on-demand autonomous
shuttle project as a last-mile service to the
park. In March, a shuttle took its fi rst trip
on public roads, permits in hand.
Last-mile services with autonomous vehicles
have the advantage of being relatively
easy to deploy. Th ey require minimal infrastructure
and reduce costs. San Ramon
offi cials point out that parking structures
cost about $75,000 per space. By reducing
the amount of parking space needed, the
vehicles could easily pay for themselves.
Autonomous last-mile services have
the potential to enable transit operators to
make getting to and from their destinations
faster and more convenient. Fribourg and
Bishop Ranch are proving grounds for these
services, providing a faster, more effi cient,
and cost-eff ective way to reach new service
areas and getting public transit closer to a
door-to-door experience.
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