Driverless Shuttles Coming to Rhode Island

People love to complain about Rhode Island drivers, so the Department of Transportation is doing something about it.

The RIDOT will be officially launching their Little Roady Pilot Project this Spring, meaning driverless shuttles on the roadways.

I think I would be totally weirded out the first time I saw one of these shuttles driving by on the road. But we could all be seeing them in just a few months.

RIDOT held a demonstration event at the Quonset Business Park in North Kingstown this Wednesday and people seemed very intrigued. And honestly these things look pretty cool.

Each self-driving shuttle can fit five passengers plus one safety operator who can manually drive the vehicle if needed. They are designed to drive on low-speed roadways and will start off on a path from Providence Station to Olneyville Square.

I have no need to travel that route at all and yet I kinda want to just to go in a driverless car.

After this week's testing the plan is to have the shuttles practice the route in March and April with actual service starting mid-Spring.

All rides will be free to start and are open to the public seven days a week.

Which clearly means there is no reason we can't all go and try this new technology out!