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.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • How public transit improves quality of life
    June 29, 2022
    There are various reasons why Mobility as a Service is catching on more in Europe than the US – but there are still other ways in which access to mobility can be improved across the states, finds Gordon Feller
    Read More
  • No ifs or buts
    February 27, 2012
    For twenty-some years I lived in Crawley in south-east England.
    Read More
  • Land Rover demonstrates remote-control Range Rover Sport
    June 18, 2015
    Jaguar Land Rover, part of the UK Autodrive consortium, has demonstrated a remote control Range Rover Sport research vehicle, showing how a driver could drive the vehicle from outside the car via their smartphone. The smartphone app includes control of steering, accelerator and brakes as well as changing from high and low range. This would allow the driver to walk alongside the car, at a maximum speed of 4mph, to manoeuvre their car out of challenging situations safely, or even to negotiate difficult off
    Read More
  • South Australian government announces first round of autonomous technology funding
    March 24, 2017
    Seven projects will share in US$4.2 million (AU$5.6 million) from the first round of funding from the South Australian government’s Future Mobility Lab Fund to drive local development of autonomous vehicle technology. Autonomous cargo pods for the Tonsley Innovation Precinct and driverless shuttles for Flinders University students are also among the projects to win funding, with other projects to be announced soon. Transfers between Adelaide Airport’s terminal and long-term car park are set to go driv
    Read More

Highlighted Content