It’s far from a “Fast and Furious” and more of a Survivor type of competition.
Three cute tiny electric shuttles will begin testing next month at the airport from different manufacturers with the possibility that one could someday move travelers, Port Authority officials said.
It’s not going to be an easy test. While the shuttles won’t carry actual passengers, they will be subjected the changing weather and other conditions found at Newark Airport.
A test course was created in an unused airport parking lot that replicates northeastern winter conditions, complete with snow making machines and fire trucks spraying water on pavement that freezes into ice, authority officials said.
Of course that was before the blizzard hit.
In addition to weather, the vehicles are tested for how well they detect objects that get in the way, such as a crash test dummy on a skateboard, officials said.
The authority is evaluating options to provide automated connections between EWR’s existing facilities and the new AirTrain Newark system currently under construction. The replacement for Newark’s aging monorail is scheduled to open in 2030.
The shuttles range in style from a boxy Nissan Cube or Kia Soul appearance to two others with more aerodynamic, futuristic styling.
Shuttles from Oceaneering will be tested in March, Ohmio in late March and Glydways in May.
“We have been working with self-driving technology successfully for many years, particularly at the airports, and believe autonomous shuttles offer a safe, efficient solution for moving passengers while we concurrently work to build a new AirTrain Newark and the brand-new Terminal B,” said Kevin O’Toole, Port Authority board chairman.
Those tests will qualify participating firms to respond to a formal Port Authority request for proposals, which may be issued in 2027. The authority also is evaluating conventional electric buses as part of its broader review of transportation plans during the planned redevelopment of Newark Airport.
The Port Authority isn’t the only airport operator looking at autonomous vehicles to move travelers and reduce traffic.
Atlanta embarked on a $20 million pilot projectwith Glydways to connect Hartsfield-Jackson airport and the Georgia Convention Center with a system of autonomous pods that carry four people.
That two-year pilot program is scheduled to be operational later this year and move up to 10,000 people an hour by operating in dedicated lanes and providing on-demand service.
An autonomous shuttle pilot program startedat Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu by the Hawaii DOT in April 2024 for transportation between two terminals.
Other autonomous non-airport shuttlescurrently operating are short route connectors between destinations and transit, designed to provide what experts call the first or last mile ride.
“Autonomous vehicles are in use around the world and around the country, and they are part of the modern travel experience whether in a private car, a for-hire vehicle or on public transit,” said Kathryn Garcia, Port Authority Executive Director in a statement.
But the Port Authority isn’t a latecomer, having conducted various autonomous vehicle testing since 2022.
The most recent were tests in summer 2024 at John F. Kennedy International Airport that allowed passengers to ride in autonomous vehicles at JFK’s long-term parking lot 9.
Two earlier tests were conducted of autonomous platooned vehicles at JFK’s Aqueduct Parking Lot in 2022 and 2023, when JFK became the first North American airport to host a demonstration of a self-driving platoon of three vehicles.
A test of a self-driving shuttle was also first conducted in mixed traffic at Newark Liberty in 2023, and a second in 2024.
In July 2022, the Port Authority successfully tested autonomous vehicle platooning and lane-keeping technology on retrofitted buses in its Exclusive Bus Lane, which expedites bus travel into and out of the Lincoln Tunnel during morning rush hours.
Platooning is envisioned as a way to handle more buses in the Route 495 Xclusive Bus Lane to the Lincoln Tunnel.
Platooning could also replace the existing shuttle buses between airport terminals and parking lots with a string of the small, automated shuttles
Nationally, airports are either using or testing other autonomous ground vehicle systems at airports, which include passenger shuttles, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
They include autonomous maintenance vehicles, such as mowers, snow removal equipment, sweepers, and foreign object debris detection-retrieval systems, perimeter security vehicles, self-driving aircraft tugs, baggage carts and employee buses, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Such vehicles have been used at airports in China, Amsterdam and Cincinnati, CNN reported. However, FAA rules restrict their use to areas where aircraft are stationary.
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