Self-driving shuttles mapping and testing, coming soon to Linden area

COLUMBUS (WCMH) – Life could soon be getting a little easier for residents in the south Linden area.

Through a grant funded pilot project, SmartColumbus is bringing two self-driving shuttles to the area. They are currently in the mapping and testing phase. 

“There’s definitely a sense of excitement just seeing them, seeing something like this in Linden gets people excited that they’re on the cutting edge,” said Alyssa Chenault, Communications Project Manager for SmartColumbus.  

Part of the idea is the shuttles will ‘bridge the gap.’  

“The idea of a self-driving shuttle is it can connect this first mile and last mile connection,” said Chenault. 

For example, the St. Stephen’s Community House is about a mile from the Linden Transit Center. The shuttles will be transporting people between those two locations with the shuttles being housed at St. Stephens. According to Chenault, residents were asked where they wanted to be better connected to. The transit center was a top answer. She also says St. Stephen’s was for many of the resources it offers like primary care, daycare, senior services and the food pantry.  

“We heard specifically from residents that they were making tough decisions about how much food they could take home from the pantry,” said Chenault. “Because of the distance they had to walk to the bus stop and that’s really a decision we don’t want residents to have to make.”  

The project is called Linden LEAP. LEAP stands for Linden Empowers All People. The shuttles will always have an operator on board who can take control at any time. They can hold 11 passengers and are also wheelchair accessible. Ridership will be tracked during the pilot period. 

“We’re really trying to see in this neighborhood setting if this technology really will close that transportation gap or not,” said Chenault. 

The shuttles will not be traveling mostly through neighborhoods and will make stops at the Linden Transit Center, Rosewind Resident Council, Douglas Community Recreation Center and St. Stephens. The plan is to have the shuttles running at the end of the month but an exact launch date has not been released. On Tuesday, January 14, there is open hiring for shuttle operators from 10am to 12pm and 6pm to 8pm.