To successfully support its continued growth and prosperity, Lincoln, Nebraska, is taking a strategic, forward-thinking approach to enhance mobility, reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality through the integration of new technologies. 

Lincoln completed planning for a full-service, mixed-traffic autonomous microtransit vehicle pilot. Lincoln wanted to expand and enhance the downtown transit system in an area with the highest concentration of people, businesses and attractions, including a large state university, the state capitol, and a shopping, food and entertainment district. Such an ambitious project requires vision, and the city partnered with HDR to help develop and shape that vision.

Our work on this project involved identifying how the service should operate, how it should serve the community and the framework for the city to begin implementation. The concept for the initial two-year pilot included four autonomous shuttles deployed dynamically along predetermined routes based on the origins and destinations of passengers. The project was intended to bridge the gap between traditional fixed-route transit operations and new transportation network company models that provide on-demand service. In the vision, riders would request pick-up and drop-off locations from a smartphone app or standing kiosk, with the shuttles traveling in open traffic on Lincoln’s public roadways along a 2.6-mile downtown route. 

The pilot was meant to help the Lincoln community become familiar with AV microshuttles and allow city officials to evaluate how these vehicles can enhance the visibility and success of the transit system and test the impacts to existing street and signal system infrastructure. 

The planned autonomous microtransit system was optimized to ensure vehicles used the shortest route possible, making the system more convenient, effective and efficient. Circulator routes; replacements for short, existing transit lines with low ridership; and first and last mile connections for high-capacity transit lines could be additional benefits. 

Lincoln received $100,000 in innovation funds from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ 2018 Mayors Challenge as one of 35 Champion Cities finalists to refine and test its vision. This funding provided for the testing of one driverless shuttle prototype in Lincoln in the summer of 2018.