Self-driving shuttle service restarts in Grand Rapids August 31

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — May Mobility and the City of Grand Rapids announced Monday that the autonomous vehicle shuttle service will relaunch service starting Aug. 31.

The free shuttles — which were launched back in July 2019 — were operating as part of the Grand Rapids Autonomous Vehicle Initiative (AVGR) until March 2020 when service was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since March, the May Mobility team and AVGR partners have been working to modify the interior of the shuttles and implement cleaning procedures to ensure safe riding.

The following safety and cleaning measures have been implemented:

The shuttles now feature a partition that splits the cabin into two sections. The area in the front is reserved for the May Mobility fleet attendant — who is monitoring the vehicle’s movements and able to take over driving if needed. The passenger area in the rear still features seating for four people but now is limited to carrying one rider at a time or one grouping of riders who are part of the same household or party. All eight shuttles will be back in service, including one with wheelchair access. Fleet attendants and riders will be required to wear face coverings in the vehicles.

Each shuttle now has grēnlite, a UV-C light treatment system from Holland, Mich. based GHSP. The system will be used to disinfect the interiors in between each rider or grouping of riders. According to GHSP, a 5-minute dose of grēnlite UV-C is up to 99.9% effective in disabling germs and pathogens that cause illness, including human coronavirus.

Halosil International’s Halo Disinfection System will also be used daily to achieve total surface disinfection of the entire shuttle interior.

The shuttles already featured dual-zone AC systems. The May Mobility team has added MERV 13 filters to each zone that can easily be replaced on a regular basis to further ensure clean air quality in the cabin.

Source: www.wzzm13.com