We rode PA’s first electric self-driving shuttle at the Philadelphia Navy Yard

Bright and early on a Tuesday morning, this reporter started her day being driven around by a robot.

Almost exactly two years after it was announced, the Philadelphia Navy Yard’s autonomous shuttle pilot has started operating, transporting guests and employees around the South Philly campus.

The self-driving shuttle felt like any other bus, stopping and starting smoothly (ok, maybe not like most other buses…) at all intersections. It automatically halts at each designated stop on its route, and automatically slows down if it senses vehicles, bicycles or pedestrians swerving around it.

The ride was narrated by Nick Pilipowskyj, VP of operations with Perrone Robotics, who explained all the shuttle’s features and noted when the vehicle was driving itself or when an operator was taking over — yes, there’s also a person in the front seat.

“Especially in bounded zones like this, with medium to large size shuttles and public transit” autonomous vehicles make sense, Pilipowskyj told Technical.ly. “I think the possibilities are endless. I think there’s a great market for it. And I think that we’re proving here and in some other places that the safety case is not too far off.”

This is billed as Pennsylvania’s first all-electric AV shuttle project.

The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), which manages the Navy Yard, announced in February 2022 that Virginia-based robotics company Perrone Robotics won the contract to supply the shuttle, and testing began at the end of that year. The project is a collaboration between PIDC, PennDOT, global infrastructure consulting firm AECOM, Perrone Robotics, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), Drexel University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics and the City of Philadelphia.

Driving happens via Perrone’s To Navigate You (TONY) software, which uses sensors, LiDAR radar, cameras and GPS to navigate around the Navy Yard’s campus. The vehicle has a predetermined route that it will follow repeatedly.

Fully electric, the shuttle can seat nine passengers, plus a wheelchair and the operator. It is also ADA compliant. Operators — aka safety attendants — are there to help passengers get on and off, and with any other accessibility issues.

‘We’re just here so it doesn’t go haywire’

Each Philadelphia Navy Yard shuttle operator is required to go through 100 hours of training (including classroom and behind the wheel) before they can operate the electric vehicle, according to Gary Krapf, president of Krapf Transportation, which runs the service.

The operators have been training in the Navy Yard without passengers for the last month and a half.

Eddie Glenn, one of the AV shuttle operators, has been driving commercial vehicles for seven years, but he said it feels different to let a machine take over. There is a button accessible to the driver’s seat to shift out of autonomous mode and take over the vehicle and operators can press the brake at any time if needed, he said.

“It’s gassing itself, it’s doing all the work pretty much,” Glenn said, “but we’re just here so it doesn’t go haywire, or go through a stop sign or make sure the pedestrians are safe.”

The shuttle will remain on the Navy Yard campus following a closed loop route with four stops. For now, it will follow that route from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. Meanwhile, other Navy Yard buses and shuttles will continue to operate around the campus, from Center City and from NRG Station.

The project was partially funded via a grant PIDC received from the DVRPC’s Travel Options Program, which is designated for projects that reduce the number of single occupancy vehicles, with the goal of improving air quality and street congestion.

In addition to the Philly shuttle, Perrone has been working on more and more autonomous vehicle projects with transportation agencies and large universities, according to VP Pilipowskyj, including a similar public transportation project in Houston.

Sarah Huffman is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.