Downtown Las Vegas glimpses possible transportation of the future

For two weeks, the city of Las Vegas tested the viability of a driverless shuttle bus downtown. Next, city officials are set to meet with public transportation company Keolis North America about whether a driverless bus could become permanent.

The program began Jan. 10 with a news conference featuring proclamations from Mayor Carolyn Goodman and speeches by other city officials and executive staffers from Navya, the French company that builds the 15-person electric shuttles.

It ended Jan. 20 during a driving rainstorm with a handful of passengers and very little hoopla.

“I’m very interested in this,” said security guard Johnny Wilson, who rode the shuttle back and forth among the three stops on the route on the final day of testing. “I live in the southwest part of town, but I’m a big downtown booster.”

City officials are looking into several options for a downtown shuttle service, including small traditional buses and a few other autonomous systems.

Dozens of curious passengers braved the rain to try out the system on its last day. They peppered the operator, Londell Triche, with questions about the shuttle and autonomous system. Some asked why an autonomous vehicle needed an operator.

By definition, it doesn’t. Triche and other Keolis and Navya employees were on hand not just to answer questions, but to monitor the experiment and give it a nudge to make it run more quickly.

“If we end up using this system, there will be an operator on the vehicle to deal with any issues,” said Jorge Cervantes, executive director of development for the city. “Primarily, an operator would act as a greeter and give information about downtown.”

For the pilot program, the shuttle ran on Fremont Street between Downtown Container Park and Las Vegas Boulevard, with one stop in between at Backstage Bar & Billiards. All of the north-south roads crossing Fremont Street were blocked off because the traffic signals aren’t equipped with radio controls, which would transmit if the light was red or green to the vehicle. If the city decides to go with the Navya buses, transmitters would have to be installed in the signals along the route.

“We’re looking at trying to provide connectivity between the Fremont East Entertainment District, the Fremont Street Experience and areas like the Mob Museum, the (Las Vegas North) Premium Outlets, the Medical District and the Arts District,” Cervantes said. “We want to start off with a smaller footprint and go from there.”

The Navya buses can follow a set route. The driver can record the route and create a 3-D map of it for the system’s geographic information system, which operates with GPS.

“There’s a closed route the buses are being used on at the University of Michigan,” Triche said. “The buses are being used in other countries, including Qatar, which has similar weather to Las Vegas.”

Cervantes noted that the pilot program wasn’t just to test the technology, but to gauge the public’s reaction. City officials were pleased with both. The city placed money aside last year to fund the startup of a downtown circulator.

“That will initially fund the program for two years,” Cervantes said. “We’re also talking to our downtown partners and looking at the possibility of downtown businesses helping to pay for the service. There is also the option of generating revenue through advertising.”

The plan calls for the service to be free or, at the very least, not prohibitively expensive. City officials’ goal is to have something operational in place by the end of the year.

To reach East Valley View reporter F. Andrew Taylor, email ataylor@viewnews.com or call 702-380-4532.