FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) — A pilot project ends this week in Fairfax County.
The program has been a partnership between Fairfax County and Dominion Energy, and they’ve been testing a self-driving electric shuttle — called Relay.
“Relay is the first autonomous shuttle deployed publicly in Virginia, so we broke ground with Relay,” said Dominion Energy spokesperson Peggy Fox.
The county received a $250,000 grant to test out Relay, and Dominion provided the shuttle and charging infrastructure.
“It reduces emissions. The number one source of greenhouse gases is transportation,” said Fox.
The shuttle, which goes 10 miles per hour, was made by a French start-up company known as Easy Mile. It’s big enough to fit about six people.
“It’s basically impossible for the vehicle to get into a collision on its own,” said Transdev operator Jordon Greene.
Since its launch, about 350 people have hopped on for free.
The pilot program, which started back in 2020, ends on Friday, but Dominion Energy says it may not be the end of the road for the autonomous shuttle.
“This has been studied by the Virginia Tech transportation institute and also George Mason, and so we’ve learned a lot — and I know Fairfax County is interested in the next iteration, and they will take the information they learn and try to figure out what’s the next step, where is a good place to deploy it,” said Fox.
