Toronto’s first use of an automated transit service is on hold after a similar vehicle crashed in Whitby on December 16, leaving his assistant seriously injured.
Even before the accident, however, the West Rouge Automated Transportation Test It wasn’t going according to plan; First of all, he had not yet boarded any passengers.
Project partners were still testing and mapping the shuttle (route) prior to the Whitby incident, Hakeem Muhammad, a spokesman for the city of Toronto, confirmed yesterday.
Ontario’s Metrolinx agency finances both projects. Due to COVID-19, Toronto officials had decided to restrict passengers on the West Rouge autonomous transportation service, which can carry eight passengers from a single home, during a test run from October to February 28.
The shuttle Olli was to carry passengers, along with an assistant who could take over the controls, in preset trips to and from Rouge Hill GO station and other stops in the southeast neighborhood of Scarborough, including the entrance to Rouge Marsh in Rouge National Urban Park.
The test service was due to end by March, perhaps earlier, depending on how the shuttle handled winter conditions, but not before demonstrating that it could serve as an alternative for residents who wish to get to the station without driving.
The Whitby accident occurred when that city’s test vehicle, an earlier version of the Olli shuttle owned by the same service provider, was being returned to storage.
“Because of this similarity, the West Rouge automatic shuttle test has been discontinued. As such, the Toronto trial will not resume activity on the highway until project partners have reviewed the results of the police investigation in Whitby, ”the city of Toronto said in a statement Saturday.
Due to the shuttle’s small passenger cabin, the city, TTC and Metrolinx are also monitoring public health guidelines on COVID-19 to see if the West Rouge trial could be resumed with passengers, the statement suggested.
Reference-www.thestar.com