Grand Rapids GoMARTI Self-Driving Shuttle Pilot Program: Data and Research Support

Status: Complete
Report Date: 10/14/2024

Summary:

In the fall of 2022, a first-of-its-kind CAV pilot program called goMARTI (or, Minnesota’s Autonomous Rural Transit Initiative) was launched as a collaborative effort between numerous partners. The 18-month pilot offered free, on-demand rides to area residents and visitors using five autonomous shuttle vans (including three wheelchair-accessible vans) at 70 drop-off and pickup points within a 17-square-mile area. In this project, researchers documented lessons learned from the pilot, which included exploring the recent history of institutional and community engagement efforts regarding transportation in Itasca County and Grand Rapids, as well as the innovations and collaborations that took place to make the pilot’s implementation possible.

Final Deliverables:

The Grand Iron Range CAV Initiative: History, Partnerships, and Community Engagement (Report #2024-20)
goMARTI MnDOT Final Report (Report #2024-20F)

Related Materials:

May Mobility expands goMARTI Autonomous Vehicle Service in Itasca County (News/Publication Article)
Lessons from shuttle project helping shape future of AVs (News/Publication Article)
CTS Webinar: Key Insights from the goMARTI Autonomous Shuttle Pilot (Video/Webinar)
Research Brief: History Partnerships, and Community Engagement (Other)
Research Brief: Envisioning Mobility Hubs for Rural City AV Shuttles (Other)
Policymaker Summary: The goMARTI Self-Driving Shuttle Pilot Program (Other)
Mobility Hubs in Grand Rapids (Website)
Research Radar: Exporing Autonomous Vehicle Innovations (Video/Webinar)
goMARTI (Website)

Related Research:

Project Personnel:

Principal Investigator: Gina Baas
Co-Principal Investigator: Frank Douma, Thomas Fisher
Technical Liaison: Thomas Johnson-Kaiser
Project Coordinator: Marcus Bekele
Panel Members:
    Cory Johnson - Transportation System Management and Operations
    Duane Hill - District 1
    Elliott McFadden - Transit and Active Transportation
    Evelyn Weiner - University of Minnesota
    Joseph Hang - University of Minnesota
    Justin Johnson - PLUM Catalyst
    Malissa Bahr - Grand Rapids Chamber
    Matt Wegwerth - City of Grand Rapids
    Mychael Mulhern - May Mobility
    Myrna Peterson -
    Sandra Wheelecor - Arrowhead Transit
    Scott Shaffer - Metro District
    Tara Olds - Research and Innovation
    Thomas Pagel - Grand Rapids City Engineer