Liberal wants test of driverless buses for tech park commuters
The federal Liberal candidate in Kanata-Carleton says her party would fund a $10-million test run of autonomous shuttles designed to service the Kanata technology park, but the Conservative candidate doesn't see it as an immediate answer to the riding 's transportation troubles.
The Kanata North Business Association has been looking into using driverless electric buses to transport high-tech workers between workplaces and OC Transpo's rapid-transit corridor along Highway 417. The Transitway is being converted to LRT as part of the Stage 2 O-Train expansion, with the station at Moodie Drive becoming the western terminus in 2025.
The city's long-term goal is to continue the rail line along the highway through Kanata and loop it toward Stittsville. It leaves the technology park, one of Ottawa's major employment nodes, off the LRT line.
City council's transportation committee heard all about the autonomous bus idea in July.
Jenna Sudds, in fact, made the presentation in her current role as city councillor for Kanata North ward. Sudds has since taken an unpaid leave of absence from city council while representing the Liberals in Kanata-Carleton for the Sept. 20 federal election.
The business association's transportation consultants mapped out the potential to create a 10.3-kilometre autonomous shuttle route on Moodie Drive and Carling Avenue, serving the technology park and the National Defence headquarters. They called it the “green line.”
A second autonomous bus route, the “blue line,” is also possible from a March Road rail station after LRT is extended as part of Stage 3, the study suggested.
On Thursday, Sudds announced a Liberal promise to fund the oneyear, $10-million pilot project for the green line, potentially starting in 2022, saying “it will enable us to move more people and, of course, very importantly connect from the spine of our LRT to our technology park.”
There are several questions about how the autonomous shuttles would operate or if the technology would even be ready to test in such an application as early as next year. Sudds didn't say whether the pilot would include passengers.
Conservative candidate Jennifer McAndrew said autonomous buses would likely be part of a longterm solution, but “I don't believe these vehicles are anywhere close to ready for a project as important as connecting the residents of Kanata North to the rest of the city in a more meaningful way.”
McAndrew also doesn't think Carling Avenue is the right place to test autonomous buses, considering the two-lane configuration in the area and the need to separate autonomous vehicles from traffic..
“I would be happy to work with the city to find a better solution such as using existing rail infrastructure that runs through the area already,” McAndrew said.