Contra Costa County could soon have its own autonomous shuttle service, connecting four cities on the east side of the county.
South San Francisco startup Glydways is being selected by the Contra Costa Transportation Authority to operate its fleet in the region.
“What we’re really trying to do is better connect all of the different transportation systems together in eastern Contra Costa County because it is so spread out,” said Tim Haile, executive director of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority.
The autonomous shuttles will fit four people to a car, running on its own dedicated pathway, spanning 28 miles between Pittsburg, Antioch, Oakley and Brentwood.
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The glydecar is not sharing a bike path or a bike lane with someone, same space with a railroad or car. A closed off pathway could solve some of the safety issues other cities are seeing with driverless cars, getting into accidents on city streets.
In downtown Brentwood, the reactions were mixed when it comes to autonomous shuttles being added to the city.
“I think it will be cool, get people out more, less people on the road who are bad drivers,” said Brentwood resident Sierra.
But others aren’t quite ready to get on board with the shuttles.
The county hopes to roll out the driverless cars around the county in the next three to five years. If the demand is there, the company expects to see large number of the cars on the roadways.
