Two years from now the bus that commuters take to their nearest TTC station may be missing a familiar feature — a driver.

The City of Toronto plans to take a step into the pioneering field of autonomous vehicles with a pilot project that would test driverless shuttles operating to and from transit stops.

According to a report going to the city’s public works committee next week, the $1.2-million pilot, which would launch in 2020, “is intended to test the technology’s ability to meet an existing unmet need in public transit.”

The report suggests autonomous shuttles could provide a solution to the so-called “last mile” problem, a term used to describe the difficulty of finding efficient ways to transport people between their homes and transit stations in areas where ridership demand doesn’t meet the threshold that would necessitate conventional transit service.

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“The problem really exists, and it’s been a challenging one because it’s not really very cost effective to operate conventional transit with a driver ... when you don’t really have the demand for it,” said Amer Shalaby, a professor and member of the University of Toronto’s Transportation Research Institute, which will help monitor the project.

“I think (autonomous shuttle technology) presents an opportunity to solve that problem.”

If councillors on the public works committee endorse the proposal, which has been dubbed “Minding the Gap,” it will go to council for approval later this month.

The city is partnering with the TTC and Metrolinx on the pilot, which is being partially funded through a grant of up to $365,000 from Transport Canada.

Although the route for Toronto’s shuttle service hasn’t been selected yet, the vehicles would connect to at least one TTC or GO Transit station. Unlike in many other jurisdictions where tests of similar vehicles have operated on closed routes, the proposal is to operate Toronto’s shuttle in mixed traffic.

The pilot would be operated using pre-existing autonomous shuttles that the city would lease. The type of vehicles the city is eyeing would seat between eight and 12 people, travel at low speeds, and likely run on electric power.

Although the shuttles would be classified as “level 4” driverless vehicles, meaning they would have a high level of automation and be capable of operating without human oversight, during the pilot TTC or Metrolinx “ambassadors” would be on board at all times and could take control if necessary.

“There could be many advantages” to driverless technology, said Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins.

“Successful public transit systems need to offer safe and accessible connections to transit stops and stations ... Closing the gap between a person’s home and the nearest transit stop could be addressed in a variety of ways — emerging technologies is one way including ride-sharing, demand-responsive transit and, possibly depending on the results of our pilot, autonomous vehicles.”

Similar driverless shuttles have already been tested in several European and Asian cities, as well as Las Vegas. Later this year Calgary plans to perform trials of self-driving shuttles on a one-kilometre service road that leads to the Calgary Zoo.

Toronto plans to determine the route, number of vehicles required, and other details of the pilot by August 2019, and a “soft launch” is planned for September 2020. The testing period would last between six and 12 months.

The city says the vehicles won’t be tested along existing transit routes and the pilot won’t replace conventional TTC service.

Frank Grimaldi, president of the largest TTC workers union, is against the proposal, because he believes driverless vehicles aren’t as safe as vehicles operated by his members.

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, which represents more than 10,000 transit workers, has opposed previous attempts to introduce automation on the TTC, including the replacement of subway train guards with a CCTV system.

“We’re very, very concerned about where they’re headed. I think they’re looking more at possible savings than the safety of the public,” said Grimaldi.

“The public needs to be confident that when they get on these vehicles, they’re going to get home.”

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According to city spokesperson Susan Pape, “ensuring the safety of the public is of the utmost importance.”

She said the pilot would “be implemented in compliance with all existing and forthcoming federal, provincial, and municipal regulations and policies” about autonomous vehicles.

TTC spokesperson Brad Ross said “it is far too early” to make any predictions about whether automated vehicles could one day replace conventional transit service on some routes, but the pilot “will assist in informing those decisions.”

“No decisions on human resource impacts will be made until well into the future. Of course, consultation with our unions, if and when the time comes to do so, will occur,” Ross said.

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