Autonomous shuttle in Orlando rear-ends bus
A vehicle operating as part of an autonomous shuttle service in Orlando collided with a public bus Tuesday, two days after it launched.
The Shuttling With Autonomous Navigation service, which started Sunday, is “a free, autonomous vehicle shuttle that will carry passengers on a continuous loop from Lynx Central Station through Creative Village on the LYMMO Orange Line during off-peak hours,” city officials wrote on Orlando‘s website.
LYMMO is a public fare-free bus line in downtown Orlando, Florida, part of the wider Lynx network operated by the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority. CFRTA partnered with Orlando-based Beep to create the SWAN shuttles.
The SWAN pilot program is scheduled to last six months.
The crash occurred at 1:05 p.m. No passengers were injured, and the vehicles suffered only minor cosmetic damage, the Orlando Police Department told the Bungalower news site.
A video of the incident, posted on TikTok by passenger Chris Gallaher, appears to show the LYMMO bus passing the shuttle before moving over into the lane occupied by the shuttle.
The video also shows an attendant interfacing with a touch screen. While the vehicles are self-driving, personnel are aboard in case something goes wrong.
@ samorlando220 Tried out the new SWAN Shuttle auntonmous shuttle in Downtown Orlando today. We crashed. #Beep</ a> ♬ original sound – Sam Gallaher
Beep has not yet responded to a request for comment on the collision.
