ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – The city of Altamonte Springs on July 24 plans to begin CraneRIDES, a short circuit of autonomous climate-controlled shuttles to putter people around the Cranes Roost area.
It’s the latest local expansion from Beep, a Lake Nona-based autonomous shuttle company that we visited at launch in 2019. The years since have seen Beep branch out with new routes closer to home, but CraneRIDES will be the company’s first foray in Seminole County after Altamonte Springs commissioners awarded a bid in 2022 to get a pilot program up and running.
“This is about getting our community to adopt these and utilize them, whether it’s for individual transportation or families or groups,” Beep CEO Joe Moye said.
The two electric shuttles destined for Uptown Altamonte can hold eight passengers — or five passengers and one person in a wheelchair — and will travel up to 15 mph from Cranes Roost to the Altamonte Mall and back. Announcements broadcast in the vehicle will be in English and Spanish, and a trained attendant will be on hand to answer questions, address technical issues or drive the shuttle with a controller.
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“There will always be what I call a ‘human in the loop,’ but we are going to transition from that being physically on board to that being remote in the next couple years,” Moye said. “The vehicle basically has virtual rails and virtual eyes. It has sensors and cameras that operate the vehicle and determine if there’s an obstacle or a pedestrian it needs to respond to. Much safer than anything human-driven out there today.”
Altamonte Springs City Manager Frank Martz added not only does he think CraneRIDES is a great way to create an opportunity for residents to do something different, but it’s an incredible marketing opportunity.
“We are going to be talking to other cities around Seminole County and around Central Florida and around the state to show them this is how we implemented it, this is how we procured, this is how we did the burn in, this is how we did the communication, this is how we are doing policing on these vehicles,” Martz said. “So the idea is we are going to create essentially a manual and we’re going to be able to hand it other cities and say, ‘If you want to do this, here’s how we did it.’”
These shuttles won’t drive along State Road 436 or cross over Interstate 4, the city noted, adding the corridor designed for CraneRIDES is marked with high-visibility signage and shuttle icons on the pavement.
For its first year of service, riders will be able to use a smartphone application developed by Beep to track the shuttles along the following fixed service route:
- Stops-
- Altamonte Mall
- Renaissance Centre
- Cranes Roost
- AMC Theatre
- Schedule-
- Sunday through Thursday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The second year will see the program expand east to AdventHealth Altamonte, and the third year will bring in the Sunrail station as an additional stop.
“We are going to be talking to other cities around Seminole County and around Central Florida and around the state to show them this is how we implemented it. This is how we procured, this is how we did the burn in, this is how we did the communication, this is how we are doing policing on these vehicles,” Altamonte Springs City Manager Frank Martz said. “So the idea is we are going to create essentially a manual, and we’re going to be able to hand it to other cities and say, ‘If you want to do this, here’s how we did it.’”
Further information about the smartphone application is yet to be announced, according to the city.
Learn more at Altamonte.org.
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