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- San Jose started soliciting bids for a connection between its airport station and its railway station.
- It approved a plan on Tuesday from a company called Glydways, which produces autonomous cars that can be ordered via an app.
- The company will construct elevated pathways that are financed by a public-private partnerships.
Bloomberg reported that autonomous cars could be driving through Silicon Valley as early as 2028, after San Jose approved a plan to connect its airport with the central railway station.
In 2019, the city began asking companies to submit proposals for a new connection between two transport hubs. Glydways, a San Francisco startup founded in 2016, was chosen over 20 other companies.
Elon Musk’s Boring Company proposed a tunnel beneath the city for self-driving vehicles.
Bloomberg reports that the city was most impressed by Glydways 5.5-foot wide paths, which are less than half as wide as a standard road lane. The city's proposal calls for elevated paths called "Glydways" to cover the 4.3-mile journey.
The vehicles are capable of carrying up to four people and only cost $6. The vehicles don't have a fixed schedule, like trains or buses. Instead, they are hailed by an app.
Plenary Group, a public-private partner, will finance the plan, and Webcor/Obayashi will lead the construction, as they did with the Transbay Transit Centre in downtown San Francisco.
Bloomberg reported that Matt Mahan, Mayor of San Jose, said: "It is exciting to take a project in other cities which has cost billions of dollars and structure it around a new technology and public-private partnership." In a sprawling San Jose city, a local light rail system is a difficult proposition.
Mark Seeger, the CEO of Glydways, described the decision in a LinkedIn statement as "one the most forward-looking municipal decisions I've seen."
He added, "San Jose recognized that modernizing its ability to move would provide many opportunities for everyone – better jobs, more affordable housing, educational, healthcare, and other benefits."
Seeger said that the system also "produces zero emissions" and reduces traffic congestion. This will also have a positive impact on the climate.
A business proposal Glydways sent to Insider's Candy Cheng in 2021 projected that the airport connector would generate $586 millions of revenue.
Seeger stated that "if we get it right, we'll shoot up to the billions of dollar valuation very, very fast."
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By: psyme@insider.com (Pete Syme)
Title: San Jose just authorized plans to build a network of autonomous cars hailed via an app to ferry people from its airport to its railway station
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/san-jose-authorizes-autonomous-cars-airport-to-train-station-link-2023-4
Published Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2023 12:53:39 +0000
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