ARLINGTON — Mayor Jeff Williams compared a new autonomous shuttle service designed for use in his city's entertainment district to watching The Jetsons come alive — even if these vehicles don't fly.

"Not yet," Williams said Friday. "But that's on the way."

Two driverless vehicles — affectionately dubbed Milo — that can hold 12 passengers each will make their public debuts Aug. 26 for the Dallas Cowboys' preseason game against the Oakland Raiders.

With the debut, Arlington will become the nation's first municipal government to offer ongoing autonomous shuttle service to the public as part of a year-long pilot program.

Williams, city and county officials, and Texas Rangers representatives, including manager Jeff Banister, were on hand at Globe Life Park on Friday morning to put Milo through its paces.

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"This is going to make our world safer, and it's going to be cheaper and cleaner than other solutions we have had in the past," Williams said.

Pre-mapped and on auto-pilot

For the duration of the pilot program, the shuttles will be driverless but will have one person on board who knows how to take over if necessary.

Once activated, the free service will follow a pre-mapped route along select off-street trails near AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Park close to Richard Greene and Robert Cluck linear parks. Visitors to Cowboys and Rangers games who park near Rangers Lot R at Stadium Drive and Sanford Street will have the best access to the shuttles.

Fans will still have to do some walking, because the shuttles won't stop right in front of stadium gates. Cowboys fans will be dropped off near Cowboys Lot 4, while Rangers fans will travel from Lot R to near Richard Greene Linear Park at Randol Mill Road.

Milo will debut for Rangers games at the start of the team's homestand beginning Sept. 1.

Once Milo begins operations on Aug. 26, it will follow the blue path for Cowboys games and the red path for Rangers games. Each shuttle has the capacity to hold 12 passengers -- or 10 with wheelchair access for one more. (City of Arlington)

Friday's demonstrations took participants in a circuitous route that took about 10 minutes to complete. Game-day routes will take about 20 minutes round-trip, said Susan Schrock, the city's communications coordinator.

Friday's ride was smooth but slow, and although Milo has seats for six and capacity for 12, a 10-person trip felt cramped. The shuttles are equipped with radar and lidar sensing technology and will stop if someone walks in its path, Milo developers said.

The demonstration featured close encounters with a dog and a couple of pedestrians who dutifully got out of the way. Milo slowed but didn't stop before each encounter.

"He didn't really seem to be freaked out," said City Council member Roxanne Thalman, referring to a pedestrian who almost walked in front of the shuttle. "It did slow down, and if he had taken one more step, it would have stopped."

Driverless vehicle Milo follows a predetermined path during a demonstration Friday at Globe Life Park in Arlington. (Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)

The shuttles, which also are used to transport workers at a California office park to transit centers, have traveled more than 100,000 miles all over the world and have recorded no accidents, said Lauren Isaac, director of Business Initiatives for Easy Mile, a French-based company that designs the shuttles.

"This is really going to prove to be a much safer way to get from one place to another," she said.

Banister and Rob Matwick, the Rangers' executive vice president of business operations, have more practical reasons for cheering on Milo: Both have children with learners driving permits.

"So we are both big proponents of autonomous vehicles based on some of our earlier experiences," Matwick joked.