A project to test a zero-emission, automated shuttle is receiving $1.4 million from the federal government, Minister of Transport Anita Anand announced at the Kanata North Business Association (KNBA) on Monday.
The funding will come from a $14.6 million-Transport Canada program for road safety programs that focus on driver assistance systems, alcohol and drug-impaired driving, distracted driving, winter road conditions, speeding, young drivers and vulnerable road users.
The Kanata North Business Association is receiving $1.4 million for the program Smart Mobility Solution: testing and deployment of a Medium-Speed Autonomous Shuttle in Canada’s Largest Tech Park.
At a press conference at the KNBA Monday, Anand said the testing of the shuttle will “inform future policies and regulatory framework” for autonomous vehicles in Canada.
“It’s really important for (Canada) to be recognizing this type of innovation in technology,” she said. “I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that I find this work very, very impressive,” she said.
Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development of Canada and MP for Kanata-Carleton, said when she ran for her seat, she made a “promise” to “bring this idea to life.”
“The shuttle will help to reduce transportation challenges within our community, and it will help to inform future worry frameworks for autonomous vehicles right across the country, because the pace of change in our world is increasing, especially regarding the vehicles that we drive every day,” she said. “The projects that we fund today will undoubtedly become the gold standard that will help us get from ‘A’ to ‘B’ safely in the future.”
“One of the highlights of my career has been being able to have a front-row seat to the incredible innovation and the bright minds that work within a few square kilometers of where we are standing here today.”
The testing for the shuttle will demonstrate the new technologies and ensure it is conducted safely, Sudds said in a response to a question from Ottawa Compass.
“It’s projects like this that will be able to advance the technologies, including, of course, all the safety aspects and parameters that need to be considered when you contemplate putting an autonomous shuttle on our roads,” she said.
The shuttle can also help connect the communities in her riding to the upcoming expansions of the LRT, she added, improving overall transit options in Kanata.
The shuttle testing is the next step in a “natural progression” of the project, Kelly Daize, executive director of the KNBA, told Ottawa Compass.
“This program’s project empowers the (KNBA) to advance from our previous work on low-speed autonomous shuttle trials to launching a higher-speed automated commercial vehicle,” she said.
Testing will take place at Area X.O.’s private, secure site before transitioning to public roads in the Kanata North Tech Park and will test across all four seasons, Daize added.
The testing phases allow the shuttle to be updated as concerns arise, she continued. For example, previous testing has resulted in a higher-speed shuttle that can withstand impact. The shuttle also have a driver “in the driver’s seat” who can take over from automation “on the fly”, Daize explained.
“Maybe there’s a gaggle of geese on the road, which we have over here near the golf course,” she said. “The driver just taps the brake and starts driving the vehicle. It’s very seamless, and safety is 100 per cent the top priority.”
The Program is funding some other projects in Ottawa, too: Invest Ottawa is receiving $1.7 million for “enhancing road safety using advanced driver assistance systems, in-cabin sensing technologies, and vehicle-to-vehicle communications to deliver real-time actional safety messages”, and Carleton University’s project to “connect drivers with advanced driver assistance system to optimize safety in SAE level 3 autonomous vehicles project (The CONNECT Project) is receiving $748,402.
Since 2019, the Program has funded 119 different road safety projects. Other successful applicants for the 2024-2026 funding round include projects focused on impaired and distracted driving, like the University of British Columbia for monitoring impaired driving in Canada ($1.3 million), Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada’s marketing campaign targeted to men ages 18-34 ($134,923), and the Canadian Automobile Association for combatting cannabis-impaired driving ($415,630). The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is receiving a total of about $1.1 million to fund three projects.
“Road safety isn’t just about ensuring that emerging technology like advanced driver assistance programs are being well-researched and carefully implemented,” Anand said. “Road Safety is also about the fundamentals, like providing safe driving habits.”
