Has anyone tried this out yet? "The City of Peoria, in partnership with the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) and Beep, will be testing an autonomous shuttle, RoboRide Medical, as part of a six-month pilot program. The free, electric, driverless shuttle will open to the public in mid-November in the healthcare district near Plaza Del Rio Boulevard. With the help of Arizona State University, the City of Peoria will be studying the feasibility of an autonomous vehicle and capture ridership adoption behaviors and patterns. RoboRide Medical has no steering wheel or pedals and will operate using a pre-programmed, fixed route. No appointment, fee or pre-screening is necessary. Additionally, the shuttle can accommodate passengers with mobility needs, including riders with wheelchairs or scooters. The shuttle will always have an attendant onboard to ensure riders have a pleasant and safe experience. RoboRide Medical holds approximately eight passengers and will operate at a maximum speed of 15 mph. The shuttle will run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information about the route or autonomous shuttle technology, visit www.peoriaaz.gov/transit. " I did, I did! Quite a pleasant experience and I would post a pic but seems that function is no longer available It would be cool if in the tradition of Sun City's old Shoplifter, we'd have one of these for each of our 3 phases....
I hate to be a curmudgeon, but this stuff is not ready for prime time. My background is in mechanical engineering, and having a 4000 lb vehicle moving at 15 mph can do serious damage. Only reason it hasn't is due to sensors. Sensors fail. Besides all the stories we've heard about autonomous automobile crashes, let's not forget 346 people dead from Boeing MAX crashes. Sensors failed, and even with pilots fighting to regain control those planes flew straight into the ground. Advancing technology is great - but not having a backup driver able to regain complete control at all times is just inviting disaster.
For those of you who don't know, scj has long been an advocate for transportation problems in Sun City. Stepping even further back in time, at one point Sun City the Red Cross provided rides for users for a nominal fee. In 1982 the Sun City Transit System (SCAT, don't ask me why the acronym is wrong), was started. By the end of 1983 8,731 residents had taken advantage of the $1.25 door-to-door rate. Unfortunately, over time the costs of those delivery services exploded, They had vans and handicapped equipped vehicles and the cost of buying them, running them, insuring them and having the necessary qualified drivers drove the ability to support them off the charts. The organization simply collapsed from the sheer weight of it. With the SCAT Dial A Ride gone, other options arose. Private rides via taxis and funded by the then Tax Payers Association (now CAN), the Sun City Foundation and a one time $10,000 donation from the RCSC employee's yearly fund drive helped get the program off the ground. I think it was a $4 ticket when subsidized by CAN and others. Not sure where it is today? I know over the years scj has been with a West Valley Transportation group (sorry, forgot the name), that has been trying to sort out bus services/public transportation. It's been a challenge and one i can't get my head around. I don't see bus routes as an answer. Most of the needs for private assistance is door to door. In the very beginning DEVCO funded a private bus company but it died within a couple of years for lack of use. While i applaud Peoria for trying, getting on an autonomous vehicle anywhere in Sun City might be the last thing i would do. It all comes back to the question of how a community deals with a lack of services that exist when there is a tax base and city government to provide solutions. And to be clear, i am not in favor of incorporation. I am in favor of re-establishing that sense of community that inspired residents to find ways to take care of their own.
