Overview
A Loop shuttle vehicle on Avenue B on Treasure Island. The San Francisco skyline is visible in the background.

Overview

The Treasure Island Mobility Management Agency piloted an autonomous shuttle service on Treasure Island to better understand how such a service could meet the needs of people traveling around the neighborhood and to provide the community with opportunities to learn about driverless technology. (An autonomous vehicle—also known as a self-driving vehicle, driver-less vehicle, or robotic vehicle—can drive itself with little or no human involvement. Learn more about autonomous vehicle technology.) 

The fully electric autonomous shuttle - called the Loop - was among the first demonstrations of AV shuttles transporting members of the public on public roadways in California, and operated for four months along a fixed route on Treasure Island. The rides complement Muni’s 25-Treasure Island line, were free to the public, and had an attendant on the vehicle at all times. 

Ongoing efforts were made to engage with the community to collect feedback on the pilot. The project team also worked to establish partnerships to support local workforce, labor, and businesses throughout the pilot period. 

Learn more about the conclusion of the pilot

Goals

The goals of the autonomous shuttle pilot were:

  • Safety: Understand the public safety implications of an AV shuttle.
  • Mobility: Understand if/how AV shuttle technology can support mobility on Treasure Island. 
  • Operations: Understand organizational and infrastructure needs to operate an AV shuttle.
  • Research: Gather insights from the public and AV technology during pilot and share lessons learned. 

Schedule

  • Fall 2022

    Autonomous shuttle operator selected

  • June-August 2023

    On-street vehicle testing (with no passengers)

  • August 2023

    Passenger service began

  • December 2023

    Passenger service ended

Throughout: Community outreach and engagement

Funding  

This pilot was funded by grants for new mobility technology and community partnerships from the Federal Highway Administration, Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Transportation Authority’s half-cent transportation sales tax program.

Partners

  • SFMTA
  • Treasure Island Development Authority

Contact

ti-loop@sfcta.org

Background

Treasure Island Autonomous Shuttle Pilot

The Treasure Island Mobility Management Agency concluded service for the Treasure Island Loop in January 2024.  

We piloted the Loop in August 2023 and completed the Federally-funded first three month phase of service. We are grateful to the community and our partners for their support and engagement in the first stage of the program. While we had hoped to operate a second phase of regionally-funded service, changing road configurations along the route required significant funding and time to re-map, obtain necessary permits and test, which made service infeasible to resume.

We anticipate presenting our final report for the Loop Pilot to the Treasure Island Mobility Management Agency Board by summer 2024.

We are proud to be one of the first AV shuttles on public roadways in California to demonstrate what a fully electric, shared and accessible passenger AV service could look like. We want to extend special thanks to our operating partner Beep, funding partners Federal Highway Administration, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Treasure Island Development Authority, and the Transportation Authority, regulatory agencies National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and California Department of Motor Vehicles, as well as to our community and local partners at Treasure Island Development Authority, One Treasure Island, and SFMTA for their support and collaboration.

We look forward to our future work together delivering transportation improvements on Treasure Island, and advancing safe and sustainable AV deployments in San Francisco and beyond.

Learn more about the transportation improvements coming to Treasure Island.

 

 

Public engagement

Public Outreach

On July 18, 2023, we hosted a preview day for the community to get a first look at the shuttle before service was open to the public. 

October 25, 2022 Virtual Town Hall for the Treasure Island Autonomous Shuttle Pilot

During the Virtual Town Hall on October 25, 2022 we discussed how the Transportation Authority is preparing to pilot an autonomous shuttle service on Treasure Island to better understand how such a service could meet the needs of people traveling around the neighborhood and to provide the community with opportunities to learn about driverless technology.

25 de octubre de 2022 reunión virtual para el Piloto de Transbordador Autónomo de Treasure Island

Durante la reunión virtual del 25 de octubre de 2022, discutimos cómo la Autoridad de Transporte se está preparando para poner a prueba un servicio de transporte autónomo en Treasure Island para comprender mejor cómo dicho servicio podría satisfacer las necesidades de las personas que viajan por el vecindario y brindar oportunidades a la comunidad. para aprender sobre la tecnología sin conductor. 

2022 年 10 月 25 日 金银岛自动穿梭机测试的虚拟市政厅

在 2022 年 10 月 25 日的虚拟市政厅期间,我们讨论了交通管理局如何准备在金银岛测试自动班车服务,以更好地了解这种服务如何满足在附近旅行的人们的需求,并为社区提供 学习无人驾驶技术的机会。

 

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Related programs

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The Treasure Island Transportation Program will address the island's growing transportation needs with a goal to have at least 50 percent of trips made by transit instead of private vehicles.