Park Shuttle System

2getthere’s current, second generation system operates on a 1.8km dedicated lane and features 5 stations that service two business parks and a growing residential area. The vehicles have dynamic routes and are both scheduled and on demand depending on the demand during the day. They are also wheelchair accessible. This is the only system in operation that features intersections at grade, with other traffic. The current system will be extended and replaced with six of 2getthere’s Group Rapid Transit (GRT), which will operate in mixed traffic on public roads without a warden or safety driver when completed. The new system will continue to be operated by Connexxion and the first to meet the certification criteria for the draft legislation governing the use of self-driving vehicles in the Netherlands (Experimenteerwet zelfrijdende auto).

This system solves a common current transit issue and has proven to be reliable, safe and attractive to use. The expansion on the public road will prove 2getthere's technology is ready to operate in mixed traffic.

The total budget of the project is €8.5m. Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag (MRDH) contributes €600,000 per year for operations. De Verkeersonderneming contributed half of the initial investment. The other half was financed by Capelle aan den Ijssel and Connexxion.

Safety certification in collaboration with the RDW.

The system operates with proven technology. Ensuring safety while offering a reliable and attractive transit solution is the most important challenge for any system.

To date, the vehicles have carried over 8,000,000 passengers, safely and efficiently over the last 20 years. On average 2,400 passengers are transported every day. Until now, 260,000km have been travelled per vehicle at an average operational speed of 25km/h. Manual intervention from the vehicles is not possible. An operator monitors the system. The vehicle reliability system was measured to be over 99.7%. One incident occurred during testing-installation of 2nd gen vehicles in 2015. In a recent study conducted by Utrecht University it was found that 90% of respondents were positive about how easy it was to use the ParkShuttle. Reliability proved to be the most important factor: four out of five respondents said they felt the system was reliable, mainly because of its frequency and punctuality.

For mixed operations, 2getthere follows a technical roadmap to verify technological solutions. This is often done in collaboration with several research activities, but is not directly related to any system deployment.