Self-driving vehicle technology company Optimus Ride launched New York state’s first self-driving vehicle program Wednesday at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
The 300-acre industrial park has more than 400 manufacturing businesses and 10,000 employees onsite. Six autonomous vehicles will transport approximately 500 passengers daily between the NYC Ferry stop at Dock 72 and the complex’s Cumberland Gate at Flushing Avenue. The route is used by many of the park’s employees.
Optimus Ride’s Brooklyn launch comes as the Navy Yard is undergoing a $1 billion expansion.
“The Brooklyn Navy Yard’s mission is to serve as a hub of urban innovation and we are constantly looking for new ways to improve the experiences of our tenants and visitors,” David Ehrenberg, Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. president and CEO, said. “We are excited to bring the future of transportation to New York with Optimus Ride, and provide the 10,000 employees across the Yard and the Brooklyn community with greater access to convenient mobility.”
Initially, safety drivers and software operators will be in the vehicles during operation.
The company said it has successfully completed more than 20,000 trips since 2015 and has agreements to deploy in three other cities: at Brookfield’s Halley Rise in Reston, Va.; Paradise Valley Estates in Fairfield, Calif., and the Raymond Flynn Marine Industrial Park and Seaport District in Boston, Mass.