City of Arlington
RAPID's Lexus RX 450h shuttle in Arlington
Arlington has launched self-driving shuttles, available for booking on demand within a downtown service area that includes the Downtown Library, City Hall, University of Texas at Arlington, and nearby restaurants, offices, and other businesses.
The city is operating the RAPID service in partnership with Via, a leading transportation-on-demand company that also provides rideshare services in Arlington; May Mobility, a leader in autonomous technology and fleet services; and UTA through a Federal Transit Administration grant. RAPID, which Arlington is touting as the first-of-its-kind shuttle service, is the city’s latest move into examining the viability of autonomous transportation.
Customers can now schedule the service 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday through the Via app, or by calling 817-784-7382. Via’s platform will handle booking, routing, passenger and vehicle assignment, customer experience and fleet management, paired with May Mobility’s autonomous vehicle technology.
May Mobility is providing the fleet of five autonomous vehicles, including four hybrid electric Lexus RX 450h vehicles that can carry up to three passengers, and one Polaris GEM electric vehicle that can carry one passenger in wheelchair.
“While the vehicles are self-driving, a trained fleet attendant will be in the driver’s seat at all times to ensure safe operations and to provide customer service for riders,” the city said.
The RAPID service area generally is bounded by Division Street on the north, Mary Street on the east, Mitchell Street on the south, and Davis Drive on the west, the city said.
Via’s standard fares on its existing shuttle service in Arlington apply on RAPID. UTA students ride for free.
Once a ride is booked, riders will be given instructions to walk one or two blocks from their location to a pickup location.
“Downtown Arlington is the perfect place for demonstrating the proven technology and rider benefits of RAPID,” Maggie Campbell, president and CEO of the Downtown Arlington Management Corp., said.
“Downtown Arlington measures only about one square mile, but has an abundance of small and medium-sized businesses, popular locally-owned restaurants, cultural destinations, residential communities, plus UT Arlington along the southern edge.”
Researchers from UTA’s College of Engineering; College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs; and Center for Transportation Equity, Decisions, and Dollars are contributing to the project.
“The research is focused on assessing and comparing rider perceptions before, during and after the RAPID project to examine potential gaps in existing and new services, recommend strategies to overcome potential challenges of the AV system, and remove adoption barriers,” Sharareh Kermanshachi, principal investor for the research team, said.
Via and RAPID riders are required to wear facemasks through a federal order by President Biden, requiring masks to be worn when using modes of public transportation. The RAPID vehicles have partitions between passengers and the driver, and undergo daily “deep cleaning,” the city said.
RAPID is the Arlington’s third autonomous vehicle deployment. The city ran the Milo off-street pilot program from August 2017 to August 2018, and an on-street pilot with drive.ai from October 2018 to May 2019.
In 2020, Arlington was awarded a $1.7 million grant by the FTA to integrate autonomous vehicles into the Via service. RAPID was one of 25 projects in the country to receive funding by the FTA program, which supports projects that use technologies and processes to improve access to public transportation, increase public transportation efficiency, and enhance the rider experience.