CapMetro YARD Program

CapMetro’s YARD Deployment Program is researching innovations that can help transit agencies realize greater savings on cost, time and space.

Location

Austin, Texas, USA

Client

Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CapMetro)

As large fleet providers continue to assess the safety and operational benefits automation provides, WSP and several partners have facilitated the first major step to bring the technology’s safety and efficiency to public transit depots.

We worked with Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CapMetro), the regional public transportation for the city of Austin, Texas, to automate one of CapMetro’s New Flyer 40-foot battery-electric buses. Dubbed the CapMetro Yard Automation Research and Deployment (YARD) Program, the first SAE Level 4, automated 40-foot battery-electric bus (BEB) in North America to be deployed in an active bus yard, was featured in a live April demonstration for transit industry leaders.

CapMetro’s YARD program partners include Perrone Robotics, Inc., Texas A&M Transportation Institute, and Clever Devices.

Autonomous Accuracy

WSP led the bus demonstration, which was held at CapMetro’s North Ops and Maintenance Facility in Austin, after overseeing the project and supporting CapMetro as its agency representative for all project stakeholders involved with vehicle infrastructure testing, safety certification, and planning.

Perrone Robotics transformed a CapMetro battery-electric bus into a fully autonomous vehicle using its TONY (TO Navigate You) retrofit kit, delivering SAE Level 4 autonomy hardware and advanced, yard-optimized autonomous operations software. This cutting-edge deployment enabled WSP to evaluate real-world operational benefits, showcasing the future of intelligent, driverless transit.

In the Austin demonstration, the retrofitted bus was tasked with maneuvering through an active transit depot, reacting to unexpected obstacles and precisely parking underneath an overhead pantograph charging dispenser.

During the demonstration, the bus encountered pedestrians, vehicles and large objects, and instantly reacted appropriately to changing situations to complete its assigned route. The most complex maneuver sent the autonomous bus to drive and park underneath an overhead pantograph charging dispenser with pinpoint accuracy and initiate a charging session, all without anyone behind the steering wheel.

It is very important to get this first step right because we’re looking toward the future and expanding this on a greater scale.

Dave Kuvicek Executive vice president, capital construction engineering design, CapMetro

Dave Kuvicek Executive vice president, capital construction engineering design, CapMetro

Assisting Drivers

This innovative project enables groundbreaking automated operations that will enhance the safety and efficiency of transit operations. But it will not replace operators within revenue service, who are vital to providing safe and reliable service to local communities.

This technology will allow for the implementation of driver-assistance solutions like forward collision warning and automated braking, which will improve the operator’s safety during revenue service. There’s also a time-saving efficiency with this technology that we can offer to revenue services, which will further support revenue operators.

The system could reduce pull-out time by an average of six-to-eight minutes due to operators not having to walk in the yard, find their vehicle and drive to the security gate after performing their pre-trip inspections, creating further savings for agency operations.

Furthermore, early testing revealed that this technology has the potential to increase yard capacity by 50-to-55 percent by parking closer together and taking advantage of remote start capabilities, creating valuable space to build additional facilities or sell land parcels for additional revenue.

True Innovation

According to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy, USDOT’s automated vehicle framework will move the country closer to a single national standard that spurs innovation and prioritizes safety.