The Rapid route

Bus routes are shown in colors at Rapid Central Station in Grand Rapids on Monday, May 23, 2016.

(Neil Blake | MLive file photo)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Peter Varga imagines a not-so-distant future in which driverless vehicles expand the possibilities of public transit in West Michigan.

The Rapid CEO's vision is of a world with less downtown traffic and parking congestion, and more people having access to bus services.

And if recent conversations among community leaders are any indication, those autonomous vehicles could provide public transit solutions sooner than once thought.

During the last few weeks, Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley sat in on at least three meetings in which driverless vehicles were a major topic of discussion.

"Like a roller coaster ride, it's a lot of fun but it can be unnerving as well," said Kepley, Kentwood's former city engineer, who is weighing the potential for driverless transit.

"Michigan is the automotive leader and we need to answer these questions. I'm probably 50-50 excitement and worry. But if you have autonomous cars, you have an enormous paradigm shift on how we live in the United States."

Throughout each discussion, Kepley and others in attendance weighed concerns over safety, logistics and the economic effects of driverless vehicles being added to the public transportation equation. Those were balanced by the potential for declines in traffic levels, car crashes, pollution and parking congestion.

But when it comes to driverless public transit, just how close are we in West Michigan?

Kepley walked away from a Michigan Municipal League national conference earlier this month with the understanding such vehicles could have widespread use over the next decade.

"It'll probably be five years before these questions get addressed and solved, and maybe in 10 years (they're) commonplace," he said. "I don't know, but personally I would love to get more information on how the technology works."

TESTING GROUNDS

Since the early 1970s, automated guideway transit systems throughout the world -- like the Detroit People Mover -- have provided rides in urban, airport and hospital settings without the need for a human driver.

What community leaders like Varga, Kepley and Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss are watching now are places making strides with these driverless passenger cars and small shuttle vehicles that don't require guided, railed routes.

Washington D.C. is one example. The nation's capital has been the testing site for Arizona-based startup Local Motors, which began running trials with an autonomous vehicle on private roads this summer.

The 12-passenger shuttle - named Olli - reaches a top speed of 12 mph. Its range limit is 32 miles.

Related: Autonomous vehicles coming 'Much sooner than any of us thought'

Meanwhile, Uber has launched self-driving cars in Pittsburgh, taking to public roads with supervising humans in the driver seat. The vehicle is built with seven traffic-light detecting cameras, 20 spinning lasers and a 360-degree map of the surrounding environment.

"That's a conversation we have a lot," Bliss said during a Sept. 22 panel focused on public transit. "We're all learning from cities who are trying them ... These conversations are going on in every city."

Overseas, cities in Asia, Australia and Europe have also begun trials with driverless cars, shuttles and buses. Those vehicles vary, with max speeds from 12 to 42 mph.

"Folks like Google and Ford and auto manufacturers, they're talking about it from shared ride purposes, so we're hearing about it," Varga said. "When you see Uber and Lyft experimenting with it, it's being taken more seriously. We're probably ahead of what people thought.

"Time will work out those (concerns). You can bet auto manufacturers will figure out how they work and then we will have to see how we can use them to help get people around."

BRINGING DRIVERLESS TECH TO WEST MICHIGAN

The Rapid, a public transportation service that provides millions of rides throughout East Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids, Grandville, Kentwood, Walker and Wyoming annually, is also watching those test runs.

While Varga predicts driverless buses won't hit public roads until around 2035, he said the use of autonomous cars and smaller passenger buses between now and then should benefit public transit services like The Rapid.

Driverless vehicles could help solve the "first or last mile problem." It's a nod to how public transit riders sometimes have difficulty getting from bus stations to their home or place of employment.

"Regarding buses, there's probably an advantage over time here in looking at how the autonomous cars can support public transit," Varga said. "I can see situations in which people use these vehicles to get to a bus Rapid transit station so they don't have to park their vehicles downtown."

Varga's vision includes driverless vehicles that drop riders off at bus stations downtown before parking themselves, returning home, or heading to pick up the next rider in the case of ride sharing.

"The industry is looking at anything that deals with shared mobility," he said. "The other thing is ride sharing systems like Uber. We're looking at all of that and how it can help in public transit."

In September, the state Senate unanimously approved legislation that would allow autonomous vehicles to be driven on roads in Michigan for any reason. The four-bill package was then unanimously approved by the House communications and technology committee, sending it to the House floor.

Previous legislation passed in 2013 allowed driverless vehicles to be on Michigan roads during test runs.

"Gov. (Rick) Snyder talked about the state continuing to be a leader for the auto industry and how we need to be leaders with autonomous vehicles," Kepley said following the recent 2016 West Michigan Policy Forum. "If it's going to work, it's going to be because of leadership in Michigan."

RAPID RIDERS WEIGH IN



Ruth Rocky doesn't have a vehicle and that's the way she prefers it. Rather than spend money on a car, gas and insurance, the 65-year-old Grand Rapids resident spends a fraction to take the bus.

But asked about a future with autonomous public transit, Rocky said she'll pass. In her experience, having a human driver has proven helpful for more than simply getting from point A to point B.

"Sometimes you need the driver to explain things," she said. "One time, a man had a heart attack and a driverless bus wouldn't know to stop and help."

While a handful of riders shared concerns about the safety, accountability and loss of jobs tied to autonomous vehicles joining the public transit conversation, others were optimistic.

"I could go for that," said 67-year-old Walt Lechtanski of White Cloud. "I've heard about those cars on the radio. They say it's safer and could cause less crashes."