SouthWest Transit to become first metro transit system to offer autonomous vehicle rides

Would you travel in a self-driving vehicle?

SouthWest Transit hopes so.

Starting in September, the Eden Prairie Transit Agency will introduce vehicles that won’t be driven by humans. These autonomous vehicles aren’t big buses, but rather new minivans that the agency will use as part of its on-demand services.

SouthWest Transit CEO Erik Hansen says people are curious and a little nervous about traveling to their destination in a self-driving vehicle.

“One of the big questions people have is, after they’re stunned that we could do this in the first place, it’s… ‘Well, gee, is this going to be OK, is this going to be safe?’” Hansen said.

SouthWest Transit isn’t the first company in the state to offer autonomous vehicles. Grand Rapids has been doing so since 2019. Hansen has ridden in that city’s autonomous vehicles and says it’s not a problem.

“After a while, it almost feels like any other ride-sharing service,” Hansen said.

SouthWest Transit is partnering with a private company, May Mobility, on a three-year, $4.7 million project. May Mobility helped create goMARTI, also known as the Minnesota Rural Self-Driving Initiative, in Grand Rapids. The service offers free rides six days a week. People schedule trips using a phone app.

May Mobility says its autonomous vehicles in Grand Rapids have completed more than 8,000 trips and driven more than 175,000 miles.

When SouthWest Transit’s self-driving minivans hit the road this fall, they will perform driving duties in all or most situations, with a safety operator on board to assist passengers and who can take manual control of the vehicle if necessary.

Hansen adds that the new technology will not reduce transit jobs.

“No drivers will lose their jobs, as they will simply move to other routes,” Hansen said. “There will be a net increase in jobs as May Mobility hires additional staff and operators to provide service.”

Daisy Wall, senior director of government affairs at May Mobility, says the service relies on mapping roads in all kinds of weather conditions. She says the company has learned to be flexible when it comes to putting autonomous vehicles on the road in snowy and icy conditions.

“We can say today that we’re just going to operate manually, because we really don’t think it’s a good idea to operate autonomously,” Wall said.

To date, May Mobility has put driverless vehicles on the roads of Detroit, Michigan, and elsewhere.

When SouthWest Transit’s project is operational, it will be the first to operate driverless vehicles in the Twin Cities metro area. Hansen says autonomous vehicles are an innovative way to meet the needs of the Southwest metro area’s aging and increasingly diverse communities.

“It’s really important for us as an agency to stay ahead of these trends,” Hansen said.