Tampa Set to Build Autonomous Vehicle Circulator Service
Thanks to funding from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) will begin working on its Autonomous Vehicle Circulator Service in downtown Tampa.
HART will receive $1 million from FDOT over the next two years, with potential for funding for a third year if the project is successful. The service, which will operate along the Marion Street Transit, is expected to be up and running sometime next year.
Via the Tampa Bay Business Journal, FDOT District Seven Secretary Paul Steinman said, “Our mission is to help solve the transportation needs of our area utilizing all transportation modes, while maximizing the use of the funding sources available.”
HART Chief Financial Officer Jeff Seward added, “We will utilize our experience in multimodal solutions to work with our partners to provide much-needed relief to address mobility needs in Downtown Tampa.”
According to ABC Action News in Tampa, the service is expected to operate on a continuous loop, with an average time between stops of 10 minutes. The vehicles are expected to travel between eight and 12 miles per hour, and they will be equipped with plenty of sensors to help with detection of people and cars on the road.
It is still unclear what kind of vehicles will provide the service, but they are expected to be larger than a car and smaller than a bus. Regardless, they will all come with one standard feature — a human onboard operator who can step in to drive if needed.
