The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) recently selected the Stantec/Coast Autonomous team to provide autonomous mobility services for the Marion Street Transitway. HART is a regional transportation authority charged with planning, financing, constructing and operating public transit facilities and service within Hillsborough County. The Marion Street Transitway project will be funded by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).
This project includes the first deployment of shared automated vehicles (SAV) by a U.S. transit agency that will function in an open environment with live and mixed traffic. SAV deployments have thus far only occurred on private land, and therefore have not interacted with live mixed traffic.
Stantec will provide program and project management and related infrastructure planning and design, while Coast Autonomous will operate its P-1 shuttle, which is driven by a suite of autonomous software that includes mapping and localization, robotics and artificial intelligence, fleet management and supervision systems.
Koorosh Olyai, senior principal with Stantec, said, “Through this project, Tampa is demonstrating [its] leadership in the push to deploy urban-speed automated vehicles. We’re excited to be part of the team that helps HART set the standard for other agencies to follow across the nation.”
The Marion Street project will use an existing transitway, yet cross live traffic at eight signalized intersections, an active railroad, and will provide two electric self-driving vehicles along a half-mile north-south roadway in the center of downtown Tampa.
The P-1 self-driving shuttle will be equipped with lidar sensors, stereo cameras, GPS, and V2X technology to transport passengers along the corridor during daytime hours. As part of the project, the team also will study corridor improvement needs and deliver recommendations to HART. This program will operate in conjunction with HART’s broader public transportation network.
