Boca Raton to Begin ‘Driverless’ Shuttle Service Downtown This Fall

The exterior of the MiCa autonomous shuttle. (Credit: Boca Raton CRA)

Downtown Boca Raton will begin the pilot of its autonomous shuttle service this fall, the city’s partner and contractor behind the plan announced this week. This city council approved the program in May after hearing pitches from several firms offering the service, ultimately choosing to partner with Guident, a local startup that has completed projects in other Florida communities, as well as nationwide and abroad.

Guident Corp., headquartered in Boca Raton, confirmed this week that the shuttle will provide the city with transportation services over a 2.6-mile loop from Mizner Park to Royal Palm Place. The launch of the autonomous shuttle service is scheduled for the fall of 2025 and will be conducted in collaboration with Circuit, the current operator of existing shuttle services in Boca Raton and other cities. The initial phase of the service will be limited to a 0.6-mile loop within Mizner Park, and the service is scheduled to operate for one year with options to continue beyond that time.

Boca Raton selected the MiCa autonomous vehicle for the service. MiCa is an electric-powered small shuttle bus first developed by engineers at the University of Tallin, in Estonia’s capital city, and is now manufactured by Estonian company Auve Tech. The same shuttle is currently being utilized on routes in several northern European cities, and has found a niche in the American market in Florida, where it has been tapped for autonomous shuttle services in Jacksonville and West Palm Beach.

“The City of Boca Raton is pleased to deploy this revolutionary urban transportation service that will showcase the city’s vision for smarter and more sustainable mobility,” Mayor Scott Singer said in the announcement.

Phase One:

The Mizner Park phase of the future Boca Raton autonomous shuttle program. (Credit: Boca Raton CRA)

Phases Two and Three:

Phases two and three of the future Boca Raton autonomous shuttle program. (Credit: Boca Raton CRA)

Boca Raton officials have said they favor a rapid expansion plan, but must first meet federal guidelines and prove the concept can be successfully deployed.

In the United States, there are four levels of autonomous vehicle permitting, with the highest being a fully autonomous vehicle with no human being in control, transporting people within mixed traffic. Boca Raton’s pilot program, run by Guident, will have a “safety operator” on board for human supervision, but can also be controlled remotely from the company’s control center. Guident staffers use Xbox video game controllers to navigate around any issues – similar to the U.S. Navy’s adoption of the same controllers for submarine periscope operations after it was determined that sailors were familiar and more comfortable with them rather than a proprietary device.

“When we start phase one, get the data and get the results, we will quickly get to phase two or phase three,” said Harald Braun, Chairman and CEO of Guident, when the proposal was first presented to the city.

The MiCa vehicles seat eight passengers and will initially come with a full-time safety operator on board. They travel at 25 m.p.h. and, once federal permits are in-hand, can operate fully autonomously with a suite of ten 360-degree cameras and seven laser-based sensor systems which also have 360-degree coverage. The vehicles are air conditioned for comfort.

The interior of the MiCa autonomous shuttle. (Credit: Boca Raton CRA)

The infrared view of the MiCa autonomous shuttle. (Credit: Boca Raton CRA)

The $22,000 monthly cost during the pilot will include passenger service, federal permitting work, vehicle insurance, charging equipment, and electrician labor. The city will store the vehicles on its property.

“Launching the MiCa transportation project in Boca Raton represents a significant step toward making autonomous public transportation a reality,” said Braun. “Our collaboration with our esteemed partners underlines a shared vision: to create a safer, more efficient, and connected urban future.”

The specific rollout date for the service is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.