Feds call Florida driverless school bus 'irresponsible' and 'unlawful' — company says student riders were safe
A Florida driverless school bus test has been stopped, with the federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration putting the brakes on the self-driving vehicle program.
“Innovation must not come at the risk of public safety,” a government official said.
The federal agency ordered Transdev North America to halt its driverless school bus program in the southwest Florida community of Babcock Ranch, saying it was “unlawful and in violation of the company's temporary importation authorization,” according to the Reuters wire service.
Reuters said the NHTSA granted Transdev permission to import its driverless shuttle vehicle “for testing and demonstration purposes, but not as a school bus.”
“Using a non-compliant test vehicle to transport children is irresponsible, inappropriate, and in direct violation of the terms of Transdev's approved test project,” Reuters quoted the NHTSA as stating.
Transdev responded on Tuesday, defending its driverless school bus test.
“This small pilot was operating safely, without any issues, in a highly controlled environment,” the company said in a statement on its website. “Transdev believed it was within the requirements of the testing and demonstration project previously approved by NHTSA for ridership by adults and children using the same route.”
It added, “The autonomous school shuttle operation at Babcock Ranch was intended as a six-week pilot program to complement the existing weekend AV [autonomous vehicle] service provided to community residents. NHTSA and Transdev discussed the operation last week, and while we have not yet received the letter NHTSA has referred to directing us to stop the operation, Transdev voluntarily elected to stop the pilot one week earlier out of deference to NHTSA.”
Transdev said its driverless school bus shuttle operated one day a week – only on Fridays – for five weeks. A maximum of five students – whose families had given approval — rode the driverless bus in the morning and afternoon “for the three-block long trip during the course of the five days of the pilot.” Transdev said
A “safety monitor” was always on board the shuttle, and the top speed of the driverless bus was 8 mph, the company said.
“Transdev does not – nor would ever – sacrifice safety for progress and is fully committed to compliance with all relevant regulations,” the company said in a statement. “We have already transported over two million passengers on Transdev shared autonomous transport services around the world. We operate with the highest standard of safety and security for our passengers and employees in all vehicle and service types, autonomous or otherwise.”
Transdev announced in September it would test the driverless school bus for Babcock Neighborhood School, a public charter school that has 316 students in kindergarten through seventh grade.
“It makes me wish I were a kid again,” Syd Kitson, one of the developers of Babcock Ranch, told Transdev in a press release at the time. “For many of the kids moving in and living here, autonomous school shuttles will be the only school transit they ever know. I’m definitely jealous of them and so proud of this concept.”
Roger Simmons, Content Director for Audience Engagement, is a member of the Orlando Sentinel Community Conversations Team. He can be reached at rsimmons@orlandosentinel.com
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