Tag Archive for: CCTA

Self Driving Vehicle Technology

Lyft Furthers Its Development of Self-Driving Vehicle Technology With GoMentum Station Partnership

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CONCORD, CA – March 8, 2018 – Today, Lyft and GoMentum Station announced a partnership to test Lyft’s self-driving
vehicles at GoMentum Station’s 5,000 acre autonomous vehicle proving grounds located in Concord, California. Managed by the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA), GoMentum Station provides Lyft with a convenient and secure test facility to rapidly iterate on the development of its self-driving systems.

Last year, Lyft announced that it was building an open self-driving system at the Level 5 Engineering Center, based in Palo Alto, California, working closely with automotive and technology partners. Level 5 is the heart of Lyft’s self-driving division, bringing together a world-class team of hardware and software developers. Through this partnership, Lyft’s vehicles from Level 5 will be tested in Concord at GoMentum Station and help accelerate the introduction of Lyft’s self-driving vehicles to the public.

“At Lyft, we believe in a future where self-driving cars make transportation safer and more accessible to everyone,” said Luc Vincent, VP of Engineering at Lyft. “By partnering with GoMentum Station, we’re able to test our self-driving systems in a secure facility and advance our technology in an efficient way.”

GoMentum Station is rapidly becoming the Bay Area’s premier facility for putting the next generation of transportation technology through its paces. The cutting edge research and collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors are spurring innovation that will improve mobility and the quality of life in Contra Costa County and worldwide.

“We are incredibly proud to be partnering with Lyft – a company who is known for building relationships with the public sector and fostering innovative solutions – because we know their presence at GoMentum Station will help facilitate more mobility options not only for Contra Costa’s residents, but for the entire Bay Area region in the future,” stated Randy Iwasaki, Executive Director of CCTA.

“We are excited to see Lyft, one of the largest innovative transportation companies, join in using Concord’s GoMentum Station – at the forefront of technological advances,” said Edi Birsan, mayor of Concord.

Download the Press Release 

Lyft Tests Self Driving Cars At a Massive Ex-military Base in California (The Verge)

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Lyft announced today that it would soon begin testing its autonomous vehicles at GoMentum Station, a 5,000-acre proving ground in Concord, California. The vehicles it plans to test are being designed and developed by Lyft’s own in-house engineering team. It’s a major shift for the ride-hailing company that has typically relied on partners with more advanced technology.

Lyft didn’t provide an update on the progress of its self-driving cars, aside from two photos that tell us little about the type of technology the company is relying on to power its vehicles. Even though it’s the second largest ride-hail provider in the US, it still lags significantly behind its rival Uber, which has deployed self-driving vehicles on public roads in multiple cities.

Read the full story at The Verge

Lyft rolls its self-driving cars onto new testing track (CNET)

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Lyft is doubling down on its self-driving car program.

The ride-hailing company announced Thursday that it’s partnered with GoMentum Station, which is a largest secure testing facility for autonomous vehicles in the country. Lyft said the partnership means it can speed up its timeline to bring its cars to the public.

“At Lyft, we believe in a future where self-driving cars make transportation safer and more accessible to everyone,” Luc Vincent, Lyft’s vice president of engineering, said in a statement. “By partnering with GoMentum Station, we’re able to test our self-driving systems in a secure facility and advance our technology in an efficient way.”

Read the full story at CNET

Lyft begins testing its own self-driving cars on a private 5,000-acre campus (Fast Company)

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Lyft said today it is taking its self-driving cars to GoMentum Station in Contra Costa County, California. The 5,000-acre campus is a proving ground for transit technology used by car-and-part manufacturers, among others. The deal with GoMentum will give Lyft an opportunity to test its technology on private roads.

The ride-hail company first laid bare its ambitions to build self-driving car kits in July of last year. Lyft has since opened an office in Palo Alto called Level 5, specifically for developing self-driving software and hardware. The company has made significant hires to this effect, including Luc Vincent, former lead of Google Map’s Street View.

Read the full story at Fast Company

Lyft tests self-driving cars in massive new training facility (Mashable)

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It’s not just Uber and Waymo racing to put self-driving cars on the road.

Ride-hailing app Lyft has been building its self-driving car program, and on Thursday, its fleet got a training boost.

Using test cars built at its own autonomous car development center, Lyft is running its cars through the ultimate challenge at a Bay Area automated vehicle test facility.

Lyft will test its self-driving vehicles at GoMentum Station’s 5,000-acre training ground in Concord, California — about a 30-mile drive east of San Francisco.

Read the full story at Mashable

Testing Autonomous Vehicles on San Ramon streets (Danvillle-SanRamon)

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Officials and members of the media gathered at San Ramon Bishop Ranch Tuesday morning for a historical moment — the state’s first testing of shared autonomous vehicles on public streets.

The implementation of the EasyMile shuttles is part of Contra Costa County’s larger vision of future transportation, in particular solving the “first and last mile” problem of connecting residents to the Bart station.

Read the full story at Danvillle SanRamon

California’s 1st driverless bus debuts in San Ramon (ABC News)

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The first driverless bus approved for use on public roads in California debuted on Tuesday, as local leaders lauded the potential of such vehicles to improve public-transit outcomes in and around the city of San Ramon.

“It’s a momentous day for San Ramon and for Bishop Ranch,” Mayor Bill Clarkson told ABC station KGO-TV in San Francisco.

Bishop Ranch, a 585-acre office park where approximately 30,000 work, proved fertile testing grounds for the shuttle, and commuters to the area may be among the first to benefit from further deployments. Contra Costa County may be using as many as 100 of the buses by 2020.

Read the full story at ABC News 

Testing Autonomous Shuttles in Northern California

Calif. tests first fully autonomous shuttle on state roads (Roads & Bridges)

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The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) and GoMentum Station have announced that permission was granted and testing of autonomous vehicles on public roads will begin at Bishop Ranch, the largest mixed-use business community in Northern California, located in the city of San Ramon. This is the first time the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has allowed a shared autonomous vehicle to travel on public roads in the state.

CCTA is leading a pilot demonstration project testing electric, low-speed, multi-passenger autonomous vehicles manufactured by Easymile, that are not equipped with a steering wheel, brake pedal, or accelerator. The California State Legislature passed legislation in 2016, Assembly Bill 1592, to allow for the pilot program. After successful testing at the GoMentum Station autonomous vehicle proving grounds in Concord, and in parking lots at Bishop Ranch, CCTA is advancing to the third phase of testing. CCTA received permission from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in October 2017 and permission from the California DMV in January 2018, to operate the EasyMile shuttle on public streets within the business park.

Read the full story at Roads & Bridges

Testing Autonomous Shuttles in Northern California

CCTA: Testing Begins for 1st Autonomous Shuttle on Public Roads in CA (East County Today)

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SAN RAMON, CA – On Tuesday, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) and GoMentum Station announced that permission was granted and testing of shared autonomous vehicles on public roads will begin at Bishop Ranch, the largest mixed-use business community in Northern California located in the city of San Ramon. This is the first time the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has allowed a shared autonomous vehicle to travel on public roads in the state.

CCTA is leading a pilot demonstration project testing electric, low-speed, multi-passenger autonomous vehicles manufactured by EasyMile, that are not equipped with a steering wheel, brake pedal, or accelerator. The California State Legislature passed pioneering legislation in 2016, Assembly Bill 1592, to allow for the pilot program. After successful testing at the GoMentum Station autonomous vehicle proving grounds in Concord, California and in parking lots at Bishop Ranch, CCTA is advancing to the third phase of testing. CCTA received permission from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in October 2017 and permission from the California DMV in January 2018, to operate the EasyMile shuttle on public streets within the business park.

Read the full story at East County Today

Testing Autonomous Shuttles in Northern California

California DMV permits driverless shuttle to test on public roads (Smart Cities Dive)

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Operating the Easymile vehicle on public roads is actually the third phase of testing for this initiative, following two years of tests at AV proving grounds and in parking lots. The 585-acre Bishop Ranch site was reportedly the selected spot due to its reputation as a “dynamic center for modern business.”

Though officials have called this latest achievement a milestone for California, they’ve also made it clear the permission for this initiative is separate from the California DMV’s AV testing program that has been underway since 2014. AVs have actually been tested across the state for quite some time now, making California a leader in autonomous technology. Last week, the DMV even announced it will allow auto companies to test their self-driving vehicles on public roads without a human safety driver in the vehicle, following permitting processes in April.

Read the full story at Smart Cities Drive