SouthWest Transit debuting autonomous vehicles for on-demand rides in Eden Prairie

Imagine riding a short city bus or minivan with an operator behind the wheel who isn’t actually driving. That could be the future of public transportation — and it’s coming to Eden Prairie this fall.

SouthWest Transit will debut the metro area’s first autonomous microtransit service, teaming up with May Mobility to offer another option for on-demand rides.

“It’s been our mission to be on the cutting edge and innovative in transit solutions. This is the next evolution of that,” said Erik Hansen, CEO of the transit agency that has provided service in the southwest suburbs of Eden Prairie, Chaska and Chanhassen since 1986. “It’s about providing better service to customers.”

SouthWest was believed to be the first transit agency in Minnesota to use small vans to offer Uber-style door-to-door on-demand rides when it launched Prime in 2015. The service in which passengers use an app or call customer service to book a trip provided more than 142,600 rides last year and “continues to grow,” Hansen said, noting usage is up about 5% this year over 2023.

Adding autonomous vehicles will help expand Prime, Hansen said.

SouthWest Transit will start with five wheelchair-accessible Toyota Sienna minivans outfitted with cameras and sensors that can “see” other vehicles on the road along with pedestrians, sidewalks, traffic lights, buildings and even snowbanks, said Daisy Wall of May Mobility, a Michigan-based company that develops and deploys driverless vehicles.

Software onboard “simulates scenarios in a short period of time and offers options for the vehicle to pursue,” Wall said.

Passengers may find it a bit disconcerting to see the steering wheel move without the driver touching it, Wall admits. But the operator can take control of the vehicle — steering wheel, pedal and brakes — if the situation warrants, she said.

The goal eventually is to remove the driver by the time May Mobility’s three-year contract with SouthWest ends, Wall said.

May Mobility has brought autonomous vehicles to transit systems in Arlington, Texas; Sun City, Ariz.; Miami; Detroit and Ann Arbor, Mich., and Grand Rapids, Minn.

In Eden Prairie, the autonomous vehicles will operate only in the “Golden Triangle” area around the Opus campus and the Southwest Station off Hwy. 212 and Prairie Center Drive. The shuttles are aimed at providing first- and last-mile transportation for those who arrive by regular fixed-route or express buses, or light-rail trains when the Green Line begins operations in 2027.

Autonomous vehicles will operate on the same schedule as Prime, 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays.

SouthWest Transit riders will get their first chance to see the autonomous vehicles during the State Fair when the agency begins telling riders about them and puts the vehicles on display. The agency also plans to do community engagement sessions to “make sure people feel comfortable and know how it works,” Hansen said.

The agency also will be conducting on-road testing before the official launch happens sometime in September or October.

“This is probably the future of the transit industry,” Hansen said. “We are excited to be a part of it early on.”