Yellowstone Park to debut driverless shuttles next month

Posted 4/22/21

Visitors to Yellowstone National Park may be able to catch a glimpse of a rare kind of ... vehicle this summer.

As part of a new, first-of-its-kind pilot program, the National Park Service will …

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Yellowstone Park to debut driverless shuttles next month

Posted

Visitors to Yellowstone National Park may be able to catch a glimpse of a rare kind of ... vehicle this summer.

As part of a new, first-of-its-kind pilot program, the National Park Service will test out new automated shuttles in the Canyon Village area from late May through the end of August. The two driverless vehicles will operate at low speeds and stay within the Canyon area — only shuttling people from campgrounds and hotels to restaurants and visitor centers.

The slow-moving electric vehicles will not be operating entirely on their own, either. As a Yellowstone webpage explains, “Each shuttle will have its own on-board attendant who will monitor safety and can take over the shuttle operation at any time.”

Park officials and contractor Beep, Inc., are also conducting weeks of onsite testing and safety checks before opening the shuttles to visitors.

“A successful pilot needs to ensure that safety comes first,” says a Yellowstone webpage dedicated to the program. “We will be able to measure and mitigate this in real time as we actively monitor all shuttle activity and environmental conditions.”

The Park Service says it will be collecting data on ridership, speed, stop times, how often the attendants have to override the vehicle and more.

“The goal is to understand how AV [automated vehicle] shuttle technology can be used in parks and how visitors perceive and engage these services,” the webpage says.

Yellowstone is not alone in testing out the new technology: Wright Brothers National Memorial, another National Park Service property in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, is also trying out an automated shuttle this spring. But the scrutiny will be higher in Yellowstone, which logged more than 4 million visits in 2019.

The two shuttles delivered to Canyon Village on Monday have been decked out with park-themed imagery bearing the moniker T.E.D.D.Y. — shorthand for “The Electric Driverless Demonstration in Yellowstone.”

The shuttles are made by the Phoenix-based company Local Motors. Known as Ollis, the models are roughly 12.8 feet long and 6.7 feet wide, while standing 8.2 feet high. They top out at 25 mph.

Ollis are designed to hold up to 12 people, but they’ll operate at a reduced capacity in Yellowstone this summer — no more than six passengers at a time — in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Beep, Inc. is operating the vehicles. The Orlando-based company has deployed driverless shuttles in a handful of Florida cities and Peoria, Arizona, according to its website. Beep describes itself as having been founded by “seasoned fleet managers and highly successful technology entrepreneurs,” and its advisory board includes former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Hinrich Woebcken, the former CEO of Volkswagen’s American operations.

The National Park Service selected Beep after issuing a request for quotes from automated shuttle operators last summer.

“They met all the requirements in the project scope and we are excited to be working with them on this project,” the Park Service said.

Beep is scheduled to receive $356,098 for its work in Yellowstone this summer, according to data collected by the website GovTribe. Funding is coming from the Federal Highway Administration’s Federal Lands Transportation Program.

Park Service officials say the pilot project will give them a better sense how emerging technologies may fit into the National Park System.

“If successful,” the webpage says, “we may consider using this technology in the future as we examine how alternative transit systems can be used in Yellowstone to improve visitor access and experience.”

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