Transdev trials autonomous school shuttle in Florida

Public transport operator Transdev is to launch a driverless shuttle for school children in Florida. The autonomous service will run this autumn at Babcock Neighbourhood School in the new town of Babcock Ranch, north-east of Fort Myers. The 12-person Easy Mile Ez10 Gen 11 shuttle will operate at 12mph and brake automatically when it detects obstacles or manoeuvre around them safely. A ‘safety attendant’ will remain on board. Transdev has confirmed it will test the shuttle with students and families on t
September 6, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Public transport operator 8574 Transdev is to launch a driverless shuttle for school children in Florida.


The autonomous service will run this autumn at 8412 Babcock Neighbourhood School in the new town of Babcock Ranch, north-east of Fort Myers.

The 12-person Easy Mile Ez10 Gen 11 shuttle will operate at 12mph and brake automatically when it detects obstacles or manoeuvre around them safely. A ‘safety attendant’ will remain on board.

Transdev has confirmed it will test the shuttle with students and families on the run-up to the pilot.

Dick Alexander, executive vice president of mobility innovation at Transdev, says the service will offer an important mobility option for children.

The company intends to eventually offer a service which allows students and parents to book on-demand and door-to-door shuttles based on individual needs.

Babcock Ranch is a newly-built solar-powered community, which will eventually include 19,500 homes and six million square feet of commercial space.

The partnership has been offering an autonomous shuttle service since the town opened in January to provide an alternative to travelling by cars.

Related Content

  • May 22, 2023
    Applied Information & JSF register together to boost school safety

    Applied Information is partnering with JSF Technologies to provide solar-powered school zone safety beacons and mid-block crossing beacons for use around schools.

    The safety beacons notify drivers to slow down when students are arriving and leaving school, while the mid-block products warn motorists that a pedestrian is crossing the road.

    The first large-scale deployment is in Toronto, Canada, where more than 500 school zone safety beacons are deployed with more to come in 2023 and 2024.

    Read More
  • February 5, 2018
    ADAC and Door2Door launch Berlin shuttle service
    Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (ADAC) and Door2door (D2D) have launched an on-demand shuttle service for residents in Berlin with the intention solving last-mile issues for commuters, minimising urban congestion and improving air quality in the city. The free service comprises 25 shuttles and will run for three months. Called allygator shuttle, it uses D2D's mobility platform and algorithms to calculate the most efficient ride pooling configurations and efficient routes for passengers to reach their
    Read More
  • August 7, 2018
    Motown morphs into Mobility City
    Detroit was once a byword for urban decay – but ITS America recently held its annual meeting there. This gave David Arminas a chance to assess how fast Motor City is moving down the road to recovery. Motor City, as Detroit is still called, was on its financial knees only five short years ago. The future looked bleak as the city and greater urban area bled jobs and population. It was on 18 July 2013 that Motown, as Detroit is also known, filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, the
    Read More
  • March 6, 2020
    NHTSA suspends EasyMile’s passenger operations
    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has temporarily suspended EasyMile’s autonomous shuttle service in the US after a passenger fell from their seat. 
    Read More

Highlighted Content