Self-driving pod system planned for Atlanta airport area
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The proposed Glydways stop at the SkyTrain. Rendering: Courtesy of Glydways
The future of moving around outside Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport might include your own little autonomous pod.
Why it matters: The world's busiest airport is surrounded by warehouses, cargo businesses, hotels, Delta Air Lines offices and more. It's a 24-7 environment.
- A coalition of local businesses wants to try a cheaper, autonomous option that could connect the area and serve places and people that MARTA can't reach.
Driving the news: Crews have started construction on the Atlanta Airport Community Improvement Districts and Glydways' 0.5-mile test route in College Park, just west of the airport.
- If the project is successful, the route could scale and serve a larger area.
State of play: Scheduled to launch later this year, the 24-month pilot program will serve the Georgia International Convention Center and Gateway Center Arena and connect to the airport's SkyTrain.
- The limited-hours route uses autonomous vehicles that can hold about four passengers and travel independently on a fixed guideway.
How it works: Passengers will walk to a pickup and drop-off stop to request a vehicle or hop into one that's already waiting.
- Vehicles can skip stops based on the passengers' destinations.
In the weeds: The mode is designed to complement, not replace, MARTA, Chris Riley, Glydways' chief commercial officer, told Axios. "We fundamentally believe Glydways does not exist in isolation."
- Krystal Harris, AACID's program director, told Axios that MARTA is also studying the project.
Yes, but: Seung Eun (Katy) Choi, a Georgia Tech PhD candidate who studies autonomous transportation, told Axios that the mode is still in a proof-of-concept phase.
- "MARTA integration could be a game-changer, but the pilot will first need to show with data that demand is there and the system is reliable," she said.
- "Even then, success would depend on how seamlessly the pieces fit: compatible routes and hours, rider comfort and, ideally, a unified fare experience."
Project leaders acknowledge riders may need to switch between multiple modes — Glydways, the SkyTrain and MARTA — to get from the GICC to the train into the city. They argue the system's on-demand convenience outweighs the friction.
Zoom out: The Atlanta Beltline is expected to launch a one-year autonomous shuttle connecting the West End MARTA station to the Lee & White district in May.
- The line will extend to the Atlanta University Center during the final half of the pilot program.
The Cumberland Sweep, a 3-mile loop around the Cumberland area that includes an autonomous shuttle, plans to break ground this year on the route's third phase.