[AutonomousVehicles] New Jersey Governor to create self driving transit system in capital city

[Cornelius Butler]

Hi Everyone,
The governor of New Jersey has made a major announcement that he wants a
all electric self driving transitsystem in the capital city. He's taking
actions to make it happen by requesting proposals from companies.

Article Link and Text are Below.

Article Link:
https://www.nj.com/news/2021/12/murphy-wants-all-electric-self-driving-transit-system-in-njs-capital-city.html

Article Text:

Murphy wants all-electric, self-driving transit system in N.J.’s capital
city
Updated: Dec. 07, 2021, 7:37 a.m. | Published: Dec. 06, 2021, 9:59 p.m.

By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Trenton could get the state’s first all-electric powered, micro-transit
system with self-driving mini buses under a request from interested
companies to build and run it, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday.

The governor’s office put out a call for a “Request for Expressions of
Interest,” or RFEI, for companies to submit informative proposals to the
state Department of Transportation for the design, build-out and operation
of the future system.

The state is asking for a system that would be similar to Jersey City’s
“Via” program that transports residents by mini van within the city, except
this will lack chatty drivers and air pollution from internal combustion
engines. That service has expanded since its Feb. 2020 launch.

Called, “Trenton Mobility & Opportunity: Vehicles Equity System (MOVES),”
the micro-transit system would use a fleet of 100 all electric powered,
self-driving vehicles. They would transport people on demand, who call for
a ride with a smartphone app or from one of 60 kiosks to be built in
Trenton and on the outskirts, according to the RFEI.

Passengers would be dropped off at any other kiosk or at a safe location
along roads connecting kiosk locations. Officials estimated TrentonMOVES
could serve about 90,000 people.

While smaller self driving micro transit systems are being experimented
with in Europe, Brooklyn and Texas, Trenton MOVES could help make the state
an innovation center, Murphy said in a statement.

“There is perhaps no initiative that embodies this goal more than the
Trenton MOVES project, which will attract tech talent from around the
country and the world with the mission of creating an autonomous
vehicle-based transit system in our Capitol that will provide a new,
affordable transportation solution for underserved areas of Trenton,” he
said.

“This is an exciting project with immense potential, and I look forward to
the day that the first vehicle hits the road.”

The system is geared to serve the 70% of Trenton households that don’t have
access to a car and would charge a low cost fare to riders in neighborhoods
underserved by public transit, officials said. It would be the first
large-scale urban transit system in America to use self-driving shuttles,
officials said.

Trenton’s system would have a “safety host” on board vehicles during the
first two years of operations, who would hosts “welcome and assist the
riders” and serve as backup drivers in case of an emergency, the RFEI said.
Hosts would have autonomous vehicle training and must pass manual and AV
driving qualification tests.

The four-to-eight passenger vehicles would be equipped with GPS feeds
connected to police and fire department and 911 dispatch centers, internal
live cameras with recording capability that would be monitored from a
central operations center, two-way communications with the operations
center, smoke and fire detectors, and vehicles with child safety seats.

The heated and air conditioned vehicles would be accessible for wheelchairs
and riders with mobility issues, have audio and outside signs in English
and Spanish and accept credit cards, transit passes and ride vouchers for
fare payment, the RFEI said.

While Jersey City’s Via system uses conventional mini-vans, the parent
company has started a similar autonomous, on-demand electric micro transit
systems in Arlington, Texas called “Rapid,” that was launched in March
2021. The company and the University of Texas at Arlington introduced five
self-driving vehicles, including a wheelchair accessible one, into the
city’s micro transit fleet.

Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti envisions the system
being replicated elsewhere in the state.

“Trenton MOVES represents an opportunity to utilize innovation to
sustainably improve the quality of life of the mobility-constrained in many
of our cities,” she said in a statement. “By starting in Trenton, we will
have the opportunity to work with a close and effective partner. Ultimately
our vision is that this effort will ideally scale throughout the state and
the region.”

While New Jersey’s system would be the first of its kind in the state, it
is not the first into metro area. Optimus Ride uses six autonomous electric
shuttles to transport commuters between a ferry dock and the Brooklyn Navy
Yard industrial park. That system started operating on Aug. 7, Mass Transit
magazine reported.

Tests of similar electric, AVs started this spring in Gjesdal, Norway,
Helsinki, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia, in the spring and other pilot
programs were scheduled to launch this fall in Lamia, Greece and Helmond,
in the Netherlands, Interesting Engineering reported.

The MOVES project is project is being developed by the Governor’s Office,
NJDOT, the City of Trenton, and Princeton University. Responses from
interested companies are due to the DOT on Feb. 11.

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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs at njadvancemedia.com.
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