Optimus Ride launches AV service at Brooklyn Navy Yard

Optimus Ride is operating an autonomous vehicle (AV) service at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York and expects to transport more than 16,000 passengers per month. The 300-acre industrial park has more than 400 manufacturing businesses and 10,000 employees on site. Dr. Ryan Chin, Optimus co-founder, says the system will “provide access to and experience with autonomy for thousands of people, helping to increase acceptance and confidence of this new technology”. Optimus is operating six AVs between the NY
August 27, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
Optimus Ride is operating an autonomous vehicle (AV) service at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York and expects to transport more than 16,000 passengers per month.


The 300-acre industrial park has more than 400 manufacturing businesses and 10,000 employees on site.

Dr. Ryan Chin, Optimus co-founder, says the system will “provide access to and experience with autonomy for thousands of people, helping to increase acceptance and confidence of this new technology”.

Optimus is operating six AVs between the NYC Ferry Stop at Dock 72 and the Yard’s Cumberland Gate at Flushing Avenue.

Initially, a safety driver and software operator will remain onboard when the vehicle is in operation. Each vehicle will be able to carry up to four passengers on a loop between the dock and Cumberland Gate. During weekends, the service will run between the dock and Building 77.

The deployment comes as the yard undergoes a $1 billion expansion, which is expected to increase jobs in the area from 10,000 to 20,000 by 2021.

Additionally, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) announced a $2.5 billion plan to create 10,000 additional jobs in manufacturing buildings, bringing the total number to 30,000 in coming decades. BNYDC will also aim to provide improved lighting and streets to make the area more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly.

Related Content

  • August 20, 2019
    Perfect Data launches ride-hailing app in UK
    Perfect Data has launched a ride-hailing app across the UK which it says will provide local authorities with a map of all vehicles operating in their areas. Darren Tenney, founder of Perfect Data, says Xooox [pronounced ‘Zooks’] will allow regulators to see what’s happening at street level. “At last they will have the power to take action against unlicensed, banned or out of jurisdiction drivers,” he continues. “This will not only help keep passengers safe, it will help protect the income of the hundred
    Read More
  • May 9, 2025
    Samba time for Travelier and Moovit in Brazil
    Bus ticket purchases in app now available through domestic brand DeÔnibus
    Read More
  • August 27, 2019
    Q-Free unveils device manager for traffic signal controllers
    Q-Free has unveiled a product which it says could save agencies tens of thousands of dollars when they upgrade signalised intersections. The Intelight Device Manager allows transportation agencies to remotely schedule firmware updates in bulk without putting an intersection into flashing red mode, the company says. Traditionally, technicians travel to each intersection and perform the update by putting the intersection in flash, a potentially hazardous scenario for technicians and motorists. The n
    Read More
  • February 27, 2020
    NYC extends Brooklyn bus lane enforcement 
    MTA New York City Transit, one of the main operating agencies of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), has extended its bus-mounted lane enforcement cameras to Brooklyn’s busiest bus route.
    Read More

Highlighted Content