Connecticut is planning to run the system all four seasons, year round. The bus will be able to reach speeds of up to 40 miles an hour on a well-maintained track. A driver would take over if it gets behind schedule and maintain headways. It's not yet clear whether or not there will be any operational challenges.
Transit advocates have made autonomous vehicles something of a boogeyman lately, framing the emerging technology as a way to perpetuate the car's mobility monopoly and starve public transit of funding. In reality, transit is one of the most compelling applications and automation is a huge opportunity to dramatically improve public transit. To help explain this opportunity, Nathaniel Horadam of the Center for Transportation and the Environment joins the show to discuss a light-rail style automated bus rapid transit project he's been working on, and the automated transit opportunity more broadly.