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University of Michigan to introduce driverless shuttle service to north campus

Posted at 11:04 AM, Jun 21, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-22 09:40:43-04

Beginning in the fall, Mcity will launch a driverless shuttle service on the University of Michigan's north campus.

The 15 passenger shuttle will transport students and staff from the Lurie Engineering Center to the North Campus Research Complex on Plymouth Road. 

Huei Peng, director of Mcity and the Roger L. McCarthy Professor of Mechanical Engineering at U-M said in a statement, “This first-ever automated shuttle service on campus is a critical research project that will help us understand the challenges and opportunities presented by this type of mobility service and how people interact with it, the shuttles will augment U-M’s busy campus bus service to provide another mobility option.”

The shuttle will cover a two-mile route every ten minutes. It will run during business hours for now, but that could change if the service becomes popular.

CEO Christophe Sapet of NAVYA, the French manufacturing firm that creates the vehicles said, “after six successful months of working in partnership with Mcity, NAVYA is pleased to join in announcing a new campus mobility service that will use the NAVYA ARMA to transport students, faculty, and staff.”