Jul. 27—Mr. Know-It-All: Mayo Clinic had an electric autonomous shuttle it tried out in recent years. It looked like a great idea whose time had come. As a “retired Mayo Clinic employee” who rode the shuttle for 30-plus years from the Mayo Building to Saint Marys Hospital, I would have liked it. This seemed like a great idea, but like a lot of ideas it faded away. Why isn’t it part of the Link Bus Rapid Transit project? I know that if anyone has the answer, it is you. — Old Mayo Guy.
Dear Guy,
So, let’s start with a simple observation. The Link Bus Rapid Transit program is missing one key word in its name: Mass. As in “mass transit.”
That program is designed to move hundreds of passengers an hour during peak times of the day.
Those little autonomous people movers could carry six seated and belted passengers at a time, and had only about 3,000 passengers total during its yearlong experiment in Rochester. All of this comes from previous Post Bulletin reporting and from a response from the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Julie Bartkey, who has a lot of inside information on the topic.
One of the misconceptions about the Med City Mover pilot project, which ran from fall 2021 to fall 2022, was that the buses did not have a driver. There was one on board, but he or she generally was there only in case of an emergency or failure of the system.
MnDOT funded and operated the program with partners including the city of Rochester, Destination Medical Center, Mayo Clinic, First Transit and EasyMile. The goal was of test how the technology works for future transportation plans in the state.
As of now, the technology hasn’t been adapted to bigger vehicles, Bartkey said, so having a big bus running the 2.4-mile Link route isn’t in the cards at the moment.
All that said, the pilot program was really all about learning the capabilities and limitations of the technology for autonomous vehicles (AVs).
Bartkey said there were some good takeaways from the 2021-2022 program. For instance, MnDOT and its partners learned that AV technology’s capabilities and limitations varies depending on a number of factors including vehicle manufacturer, technology used on a vehicle, software and upgrades, and of course, weather.
“Throughout the project, we worked with project partners to advance the capabilities of the vehicle in winter weather both increasing its ability to operate in cold temperatures and in snowy conditions,” Bartkey said.
Guy, you’d have fit in with riders who did take part. Apparently, people who rode those little buses reportedly enjoyed the experience.
“Lastly, we learned that minimal transportation infrastructure investments need to be made for AV technology, especially since technology is advancing at a very rapid pace,” Bartkey said.
That last bit should be encouraging. Maybe adapting the AV technology to city buses isn’t that far away.
Right now, Bartkey said MnDOT has no plans of operating another pilot project in Rochester, but will continue to keep an eye on the technology as it develops.
That said, Answer Man has taught two teens how to drive. After those harrowing experiences, maybe self-driving buses won’t be so bad.
Send questions to Answer Man at answerman@postbulletin.com.