Fabio Tylim is offering test drives in his car, but there's no driver.
“We are inside MiCa,” he said, “MiCa is a level 4 autonomous vehicle platform, 8 seater, this vehicle has no controls, no steering wheels, no pedals.”
Tylim is the Vice President of Sales and Development at Guident, a company that programs autonomous vehicles like MiCa.
He was one of the many participants at last week's Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Route to 2050 Summit in Fort Lauderdale, where the high-tech future of transit is being explored.
The summit was designed to gather leaders in emerging technologies, governmental organizations, like the Florida Department of Transportation and Broward Transit, and, most crucially, introduce the MPO’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan also known as the Route to 2050.
The Broward MPO, which manages and distributes state and federal funds to local transportation projects, plays a critical role in planning the future of transportation in the county.
The plan’s project manager, Peter Gies, says that long term planning begins by looking at the short term.
“When we look at transportation out into the future we have to also consider the timestamps in between,” he said, “It's not just 2050 that's the future, it's next year, 5 years from now, 15 years from now.
Emerging technologies like MiCa or electric circulators could help with what Gies calls “micro-transit” that are designed to better connect people with mass transit options.
Jason Bagley, VP of Strategic Growth at Circuit, who’s electric circulators already move almost 20,000 people a month in Broward County, says these can help alleviate traffic.
“Right now, about 35% of all trips in the United States are under two miles,” he said, “That means somebody getting their personal vehicle, searching for a parking spot, having to find and pay for a parking spot, and adding to the congestion.”
Those short trips are referred to as “first mile/last mile connections,” which represents the start and end of a person's use of a transit option, usually between their home and the transit station.
“It is the most difficult part because that's where people typically have that stumbling block when they want to use transit, because the networks and the safety of those networks is something that hasn't been fully built out yet,” he said.
In addition to the benefits of new technology, says Gies, the other largest factor in planning for 2050 is the impact of climate change.
“Roads are going to go underwater,” he said, “Things like urban heat island effect and what it does to the pavement, how long pavement lasts, and how we generally interact with the urban environment are things that we look at.”
Those impacts will have to be managed against another major factor: Broward’s rising population.
According to the plan, Broward’s population is expected to rise to more than two million people — a 20% increase from today. In a built-out environment like Broward, that can significantly strain transportation infrastructure.
CEO and general manager of Broward Transit Coree Cuff Lonergan says the key for Broward's transit operations is to expand and diversify its service.
“We're going to be adding commuter rail, light rail, bus rapid transit, and high frequency bus service,” she said, “ Not everybody's going everywhere at the same time, so we have to be flexible with the service that we provide. Having multiple modes of travel is always best for the community.”
Lonergan’s department was recently awarded a $25 million federal grant to electrify Broward’s bus fleet. That money will help replace old diesel busses which can mitigate the climate impact of the fleet.
Though 2050 may seem like a long way away, Gies says that time is still the biggest challenge to overcome.
“It just takes time to do all of this stuff. There's so many different partnerships that are involved,” he said, “There's a lot of public coordination that needs to happen, coordination with other partners, and I think that always is the biggest thing.”
By 2050, Tylim, MiCa's operator, says that the autonomous technology will also scale up.
"MiCa is an 8 seater, but we are also integrating to 40-foot buses, 22-foot buses, and micro mobility as well."
The plan will be formally approved at the MPO’s board meeting in December.
