Oct. 14, 2020—This week, Tampa, Florida's HART autonomous vehicles launched in downtown Tampa to offer brave residents a ride.
HART partnered with Florida's Department of Transportation to create the one-year pilot program to see how well AVs integrate into everyday modes of transportation, reports Fox 13.
The shuttle, similar to Waymo's launch in Phoenix, Ariz., will not have a steering wheel nor driver inside. But for HART's operation, there will be an extra set of eyes in the vehicle. An operator will always be on board the shuttle to intervene in case of an emergency, using an Xbox controller to steer the vehicle.
The shuttle will run on limited hours, but is free to the public.
Read about how Tampa is one of the U.S. Department of Transportation's connected vehicle test sites.
