How, exactly, could autonomous vehicle technology improve public transportation? It’s a fundamental question, but a surprisingly difficult one to answer. To date, most transit pilots of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) have been demonstration projects, usually designed to introduce residents to new technology or test its technical capabilities. Such demonstration projects can leave a transit rider scratching his head, wondering whether CAVs could actually affect their own journeys.
The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and STEER Tech — a CAV startup that I lead as CEO — wanted to see if we could help provide an answer. Over the last two years, we have partnered on a research initiative conducted at two commuter rail stations in suburban Maryland. To the best of our knowledge, this the first project in the United States to examine the potential impact of CAV technology on commuter rail.
Our results will soon be released through the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Science, but I can give you a sneak peek: The findings strengthen the case that CAVs could help commuter rail rebound after COVID-19, saving transit agencies money while attracting riders who might otherwise have driven to their destination.
The ideas that STEER Tech and MTA sought to explore revolved around autonomous parking. A person whose car is equipped with autonomous parking can drive to a destination and exit the vehicle at the front door, leaving the car to park itself in a dedicated lot nearby. When the driver is ready, they can then summon their vehicle by using their smartphone. Their car will come directly to them, so they can enter the driver’s seat and continue their trip. Such capabilities align with SAE Level 4 autonomous driving, allowing a vehicle to be fully autonomous within a geofenced area.
Autonomous parking offers several potential enhancements to commuter rail, both for riders and for agencies. Most obviously, a transit customer could exit and enter her car at the entrance to the station instead of a parking spot further away, saving her time on both ends of her journey. The lower risk of a fender-bender in the parking garage might reduce insurance claims. And the transit agency stands to reap efficiency benefits, both because autonomously parked vehicles can be stationed further away from the station (leaving nearby parking for human drivers) and because CAV vehicles can park themselves with only 10cm between them, creating new parking spaces in a fixed amount of space.
More transit ridership and lower operating costs seem like a win-win for transit agencies. But until now, no one has tried to find out if those ideas could work in practice.
Over the last two years, MTA and STEER Tech mapped out the Odenton station in suburban Maryland, surveying hundreds of commuter rail users about their driving habits and willingness to use CAV technology. We also brought over an automobile equipped with STEER Tech’s autonomous parking feature so that riders could see one for themselves.
The pandemic began after we had already begun our pilot, forcing us to shift to the MTA’s Dorsey commuter rail station. But we were still able to collect a trove of data — and to reach some encouraging conclusions. We successfully mapped Odenton, supporting our hypothesis that CAV could improve station parking efficiency. Even better, a significant portion of MTA customers told us that they would ride more often if they didn’t have to park their own vehicle at the station. We’ll save some of the juicy details until later, but all will be revealed shortly (you can sign up for the STEER newsletter here, so we can be sure to keep you informed).
For now, we’re excited that our pilots in Maryland supported the idea that CAV can provide a lift to transit, offering a pathway to improve the post-Covid customer experience. And there could be other potential CAV use cases for transit as well. For instance, agencies could use CAV technology to streamline vehicle movements inside their “yards,” where buses and vans are stored while not in service. STEER Tech will be testing that idea as well (feel free to get in touch if you’d like to learn more).
At STEER Tech, we believe that CAV technology is only valuable to the extent that it can tangibly improve human lives. With transit, we believe that potential is enormous.
To learn more about STEER and our autonomous vehicle technology, visit our website.
