Planning for the Deployment of a Self-Driving Community Shuttle in Buffalo, NY
- Date: November 27, 2024
Buffalo All Access: In and around BNMC, a new initiative funded in part by the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) under the ITS4US Deployment Program, is currently pilot testing technology to improve transportation options for all travelers in and around the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC), regardless of ability, age, or income. The project is led by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) in partnership with BNMC, the Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council (GBNRTC), the University at Buffalo (UB), City of Buffalo, Niagara International Technology and Transportation Coalition (NITTEC), Kaleida Health, Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center, Visually Impaired Advancement (VIA), Heart of the City Neighborhoods, and the Fruit Belt Coalition aka Fruit of the City.
The project’s goal is to improve mobility to, from, and within the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and its surrounding neighborhoods. The BNMC is a 120-acre campus near Downtown Buffalo which serves as the region’s epicenter of health, entrepreneurship, and innovation. To achieve this, the project will be deploying new and advanced technologies focusing on addressing existing mobility and accessibility challenges. Among the different technologies of Buffalo All Access is a Self-Driving Shuttle (SDS) and a human-driven shuttle (HDS). The SDS component will be a demand-responsive shuttle constrained to operate over a pre-defined route on campus (i.e., a set of streets that satisfy the SDS Operations Design Domain, ODD) and pre-designated pick-up/drop-off locations. The HDS, on the other hand, will provide door-to-door, on-demand service on the campus and adjacent neighborhoods.
The All Access Community Shuttle Service will better connect the Fruit Belt and Masten Park neighborhoods and BNMC to help address the first- and last-mile segments of trips, including connections to fixed-route NFTA bus and light rail options. The inclusion of both the HDS and SDS allows the project to compare the pros and cons of autonomous vehicles (AVs) versus human-driven vehicles, provide insights into the business case for AVs in micro-transit, offer an alternative mode of transportation during adverse conditions, educate the community about AVs, and gain a better understanding of AV skepticism, as well as regulatory restrictions.
The foundation of the Buffalo All Access project started with the identification of robust and well-defined user needs. This process involved a comprehensive review of literature, data about the current system, existing planning documents, interviews with project partners, traveler focus groups, and a user needs definition workshop. The user needs were categorized into personalized pre-trip planning, trip execution, inclusive infrastructure, wayfinding and navigation, trip connectivity and mode transfer, real-time information, and business needs.
The next step involved formulating the System Requirements Specification (SyRS). The SyRS defined the functional, interface, performance, and data requirements of the SDS. These included requirements for manual and autonomous driving, multiple and redundant sensor systems for perception and localization, detecting and interpreting objects, and operating in mixed traffic. The acquisition of the SDS and its associated subcomponents, equipment, and software, was accomplished through a Request for Proposals (RFP) process which sought qualified vendors capable of providing a turnkey SDS solution. A joint team from ADASTEC Corp. (ADASTEC) and Vicinity Motor (Bus) USA Corp (VMC) was selected to supply the SDS.
The vehicle they are providing is a battery-electric bus with a 252 kWh battery, 180-mile range, and dual-mode capability for manual and autonomous operation. It features an Autonomous Driving System (ADS) called flowride.ai, which uses enhanced sensor fusion and includes LIDAR, GNSS/INS, RGB and thermal cameras, RADAR, and a V2X Onboard communication unit. The Shuttle Operations Center (SOC) software handles routing, dispatch, monitoring, and performance metrics, interfacing with the Buffalo-All-Access app for real-time data and trip management. The Operator Human Machine Interface (HMI) allows for quick control of the vehicle, providing system health notifications and emergency stop functions. Accessibility features include a power wheelchair ramp, ADA-compliant mobility aid locations, lighting, signage, grab rails, and auditory and visual alert systems. Additionally, the shuttle features a large screen displaying destinations, arrival times, weather conditions, and status information, with a digital video recorder system (DVR) for passenger security monitoring.
After deployment, ADASTEC will operate the shuttle for the Buffalo All Access project for the whole 18-month implementation and evaluation phase of the initiative.
The ITS4US Deployment Program (https://its.dot.gov/its4us/) is a $40 million multimodal effort, led by the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office (JPO) and supported by the Office of the Secretary, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Federal Transit Administration, to identify ways to provide more efficient, affordable, and accessible transportation options for underserved communities that often face greater challenges in accessing essential services. The project team has just produced an overview video that showcases more details about this project. For more information, please watch the video on the website (https://bnmc.org/allaccess/).