Driverless shuttle gets a thumbs up from riders

Marguerite Nelson thought the minibus looked adorable. Kyle Delahunt said the ride was enjoyable. And Shirley Moises called it “the wave of the future.”

They were among 80 people or so who showed up first thing Friday at the Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis to try out a driverless shuttle bus.

As part of the Super Bowl hoopla, the Minnesota Department of Transportation offered free shuttle rides Friday on the mall, between 3rd and 4th streets. The rides will continue, subject to weather conditions, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

MnDOT has been testing the so-called autonomous vehicle since last month on a course in Monticello to see how it operates in the state’s challenging wintry elements. Officials now are interested in seeing how people react to riding a bus with no steering wheel and no gas pedal.

Although the minibus can hold up to 12 passengers, Friday’s runs on the mall were limited to six seated riders. The bus crept at 5 miles-per-hour along a preprogrammed, GPS-guided path, never reaching its top speed of 25 mph.

The minibus has sensors on all sides to detect objects that might get in its way, and Moises said it stopped once when someone came too close to it. She said she enjoyed the smooth ride and added that she would “absolutely” ride a driverless shuttle if it came to town.

Nelson said she stumbled unexpectedly upon the bus and wanted a ride the moment she saw it. “It’s adorable, for one thing,” she said.

Delahunt said his family had planned on taking a ride because they wanted a Super Bowl experience without having to be downtown during the actual event.

The ride, he said, made him “want it sooner rather than later.” He wasn’t nervous but said he might hesitate using the bus in heavy traffic.

Michael Kronzer, MnDOT’s intelligent transportation systems project manager, said Minnesota’s cold temperatures have challenged the vehicle’s battery life during testing. Salt spray from the road also has proved a challenge for the vehicle’s sensors, he said.

Although some riders are unsure about the idea of a driverless vehicle, Kronzer said that “it’s not as crazy as it seems because the technology is advancing everyday.” He said that some blind people had tested it this week and were looking forward to the future of autonomous vehicles.

“[It] opens up a lot of possibilities for them,” he said.

MnDOT expects to continue tests on the minibus until at least April. EasyMile, a French company that made the bus, and Maplewood-based 3M Co. are collaborating on the project.

 

Kelly Busche is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune.