SARASOTA, Fla. (January 17, 2017) Paris, France-based Transdev, one of the world’s leading public transit companies, will be running an autonomous transit vehicle demonstration at the Mall at University Town Center Monday, January 23, 2017.
The demonstration is in conjunction with Manatee County-based Benderson Development, UTC Mall and EasyMile, a Toulouse, France-based firm that specializes in last-mile solutions for mass transit and develops software for autonomous transit vehicles.
This is an opportunity for the media and community to see and experience technology that is at the precipice of revolutionizing transportation and transit, pedestrian safety, carbon reduction, and economic and social mobility across the world.
“We are honored to have an opportunity to host this demonstration project with EasyMile and Transdev,” said Todd Mathes, Director of Development for Benderson Development. “We are actively looking at emerging technologies that will complement the healthy and vibrant live, work and play lifestyle that University Town Center represents to so many in our community. This demonstration will showcase these options to our community.”
There will be a late morning media demonstration from 11 a.m. to noon that will allow members of the media to ride the autonomous vehicle and ask questions about the technology. Please contact Rod Thomson, President of The Thomson Group, to arrange your ride time at rod@thomsonpr.com or at 941-914-6690. This will also be an opportunity for video and photos.
From noon until 2 p.m. there will be more AV demonstrations and a guided tour at the Main Entrance to UTC on the west side of the mall. There will be a brief presentation at 1 p.m. that will include Sarasota County Commission Chairman Paul Caraguilo and Manatee County Commission Vice-Chairwoman Robin DiSabatino.
Transdev is a French-based international privately-owns public transport operator with operations in 19 countries. The company’s North American operations include running historic rail lines in Boston, Phoenix, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Baltimore, Atlanta, Washington D.C. and more. It runs operations from commuter bus to rail; from private hire to paratransit; from bus rapid transit to shared ride transportation; from light rail to taxi. It’s mission is to provide environmentally sustainable transportation networks that enhance people’s mobility and thus their quality of life.
www.transdev.com/en and for North American operations, www.transdevna.com
EasyMile was founded in 2014 as a high-tech startup specializing in providing both software powering autonomous vehicles and the last mile smart mobility solutions. It is headquartered in Toulouse, France, with offices in Singapore and Denver. It also operates through value added resellers notably in Japan and the Middle East.
Benderson Development is one of America’s largest privately held real estate companies, owning and managing more than 700 properties encompassing more than 40 million square feet in 38 states. The diverse Benderson portfolio includes retail, office, industrial, hotel, residential, and land holdings.