ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando city leaders are already looking to expand the autonomous shuttle pilot program a few months after it launched in downtown. 

What You Need To Know

  • SWAN shuttle service provides driverless free rides between LYNX Central Station and Creative Village

  • If successful, the city could expand autonomous shuttle service to places like SODO and Ivanhoe Village

  • SWAN was involved in a crash with a LYNX bus back in August when service started

  • SWAN service will be provided free through April 2024

In August, the city of Orlando teamed up with LYNX and Beep to start the free SWAN Shuttle service between LYNX Central Station and the Creative Village area.

“We do have a lot of main street districts where this type of public transit could potentially be a viable solution to transportation needs,” said Cade Braud, city of Orlando transportation planning division manager. “So we would see this as a potential expansion in other areas of the city.”

SWAN stands for Shuttling With Autonomous Navigation. They’re driverless, compact and white to resemble the popular swans at Lake Eola Park.

Sam Gallaher prides himself on using alternative modes of transportation, including riding on SWAN.

“You don’t have to be out in the weather if it’s raining. I get to skip that,” he said.

Gallaher sold his car a year and a half ago and this past summer he was taking classes at UCF’s downtown campus.

He still likes to take SWAN to check out some of the businesses in Creative Village.

 “I have a lot of friends that come in from work, Universal, for their jobs, so we can meet there and hop on the SWAN and be in Creative Village in a couple of minutes,” he said.

Orlando’s first testing ground with autonomous vehicles has been with Beep in Lake Nona.

The city wants to see how driverless vehicles can handle busy downtown Orlando traffic.

“We have a great partnership with the operator, but we’ve never really seen that service be placed in an urban setting,” said Braud.

Gallaher was on SWAN back in August when a LYNX bus crashed into his shuttle.

“I think that was an issue with it just being a new service that we’ve got in town,” said Gallaher. “The driver wasn’t expecting us there. It was a very minor incident, resolved pretty quickly.”

While the vehicles are driverless, Beep does have an operator on board in case something goes wrong.

The pilot program lasts through April of next year.

If it proves successful, the city is looking at bringing the driverless shuttles to other areas, including SODO and Ivanhoe Village.

Altamonte Springs is also partnering with Beep for autonomous vehicle rides in Uptown Altamonte.