THE VILLAGES, Fla. — The Villages finds itself positioned as a primary proving ground for a technological advancement that could change the face of transportation.
- Voyage Auto program ramping up Villages Service
- Uses a self-driving taxi van
- Company says The Villages is an ideal testing ground
The unveiling of the pilot self-driving taxi program earlier this year in the Village of Virginia Trace offered just a hint at the prospect for enhanced mobility through the emerging autonomous vehicle technology.
It also put the community under the national spotlight. The deployment of the Voyage Auto pilot program in The Villages comes at a time when many larger urban areas are getting “driverless” cars, and now the bustling retirement community in Central Florida is on the hot list.
The Villages became an ideal spot to test the self-driving taxi for a big reason.
Seven years ago, Florida became only the second state behind Nevada to permit testing of self-driving vehicles on state roads and highways, said state Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg.
In 2012, Brandes championed the self-driving testing law as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, and continues to do so with another proposed law this legislative session to further advance the industry in Florida.
The Villages is ideal, according to representatives from Voyage, because of the slower road speeds and slower pace of the resident's lifestyle.
Also, the company is pleased with the high level of disposable income and the continued growth in the area. The Villages population is currently around 150,000.
Perfect Features
With favorable laws in place, Voyage Auto searched for the ideal location to test its self-driving technology in Florida.
The Palo Alto, California-based start-up company quickly identified The Villages as the place where it needed to be.
“It just felt like the perfect first market for autonomous vehicles,” said Oliver Cameron, Voyage Auto’s co-founder and CEO. “We feel this technology will solve a whole bunch of really difficult problems for senior citizens, specifically.”
“We felt this was absolutely the best place to do this,” he said. “When we first started talking to The Villages, our philosophy of safety and The Villages and how they think about safety went hand in hand. It felt like the perfect relationship.”
The Auto Pilot program already began earlier this year in one of The Villages communities. Today, Voyage plans to ramp up its service to larger areas in The Villages with an automated passenger van that costs approximately $175,000 each.