CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The future of transportation has arrived at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and its name is Surge.
The driver-less vehicle can fit up to 15 riders, which includes the Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority ambassador who will monitor the shuttle.
"We wanna provide service to the community that is meaningful to them," CCRTA CEO Jorge Cruz-Aedo said.
"It's so innovative and it helps to highlight all the innovative research we're doing on campus," President of TAMUC, Kelly Miller said.
The shuttle was unveiled on Tuesday afternoon at the Island University. Attendees were invited to ride the shuttle and watch how it uses several sources of technology to navigate it's route. The shuttle runs on a preset route which is about a mile and a half long, with eight stops.
But, without a driver, people have asked, is it safe?
Cruz-Aedo said, absolutely.
"We've done a lot of work to ensure that it is reliable and safe, they've got out in front of it and the vehicle stops, it is as safe as you can get," he said.
The innovative shuttle has cameras, GPS, sensors, lidars and much more to sense pedestrians or other objects that may be in its way. CEO and President of the University, Kelly Miller, said it'll provide students with more than transportation.
"We are working out iCore lab for example is helping to work with and look at the data and what happens in terms of having an autonomous vehicle," she said.
Cruz-Aedo explained the data is also being shared with experts worldwide.
"It's sent to Malaysia daily so that the analysis can be made and make sure everything works the way it should work and that all the innovation and technology is where it should be," he said.
Surge is also accessible, which is important for riders like Robert Box.
"Makes me feel real good, I feel like CCRTA is going to great great depths to try to resolve some of the problems and reach out into the future, I think they're doing a really good job," he said.
CCRTA has set several guidelines to safely ride Surge, such as no eating or drinking, no smoking, vaping or drug use, and they urge riders to stay at a safe distance from the shuttle until it's ready for people to get on.
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