{"id":45546,"date":"2018-10-14T10:55:49","date_gmt":"2018-10-14T16:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=45546"},"modified":"2018-10-14T10:55:49","modified_gmt":"2018-10-14T16:55:49","slug":"driverless-shuttle-a-hit-at-the-zoo-telus-spark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2018\/10\/14\/driverless-shuttle-a-hit-at-the-zoo-telus-spark\/","title":{"rendered":"Driverless shuttle a hit at the Zoo, TELUS Spark"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
A man and his son prepare to board the ELA shuttle in the parking lot of the Calgary Zoo on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018. (Photo by Khaleel Haji\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T<\/span>ELUS Spark centre and the Calgary Zoo have started bridging the walkways and roads between their two facilities with an innovative and developing mode of futuristic transportation.<\/p>\n

T<\/span>he ELA (electric autonomous) shuttle is an entirely self-driven shuttle bus that can fit roughly 12 people within its cabin.<\/p>\n

The shuttle, which uses mainly sensors and environmental feedback systems, transports visitors between the zoo and TELUS Spark Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., for those visiting both facilities.<\/p>\n

Manufactured by the leading autonomous vehicle technology company EasyMile, the shuttle takes anywhere from 3 \u00bd to four minutes to cover a gravel road connecting the zoo and Spark.<\/p>\n

The shuttle, which looks like an oversized smart car, can cruise at 45 km\/h but is programmed not to exceed 12 km\/h for commercial use.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems very efficient\u201d says Margaret Louise, who visits the Spark centre often with her grandchildren. \u201cIt\u2019s quiet too.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the layout, the bus has three wooden seats on each side facing inwards, with room in the middle for around six more people.<\/p>\n

Whilst slightly cramped at full capacity, the vehicle offers a smooth ride.<\/p>\n

The shuttle seems ideal for seniors, children and those who have compromised mobility.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my son’s first ride on the ELA,” Micheal Chan, a father of a 4-year-old boy, said in an interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t really know the difference between this and a regular bus, but we thought we\u2019d try it out anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project, which has been spearheaded by Pacific Western, operated until the end of September.<\/p>\n

Under Alberta legislation, a human operator must be with the shuttle at all times. But in France where the ELA shuttle originates, it\u2019s a different story.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn France these vehicles are not required to have an attendee whilst the shuttle is moving. It is completely automated,\u201d says ELA worker Daniel Faust.<\/p>\n

The shuttle can be controlled manually, in case of emergency, using what looks like a large yellow RC car controller. It also has fail-safe mechanisms to stop the vehicle if a collision occurs.<\/p>\n

The vehicle is battery operated, making the ELA shuttle very environmentally friendly.<\/p>\n

Because of this, cities\u00a0 have been vying with one another to test out the technology within their infrastructure.<\/p>\n

The U of C is also invested in the project with multiple departments aiding in the funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems like a very-forwarding thinking move from the city to start introducing automated vehicles, even in a small-scale environment like this,\u201d says Shaleza Lakha, a sociology student at Mount Royal University<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an exciting time for the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
The TELUS Spark Centre, one of the destinations that the ELA shuttle arrives at from the Calgary Zoo in Calgary on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018. (Photo by Khaleel Haji\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The TELUS spark centre and Calgary zoo has started bridging the walkways and roads between their two facilities with an innovative and developing mode of futuristic transportation. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":512,"featured_media":45595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S1 Khaleel Haji (Calgary shuttle)","footnotes":""},"categories":[212,4,9,1107,18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-45546","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-downtown","8":"category-east-village","9":"category-life","10":"category-technology-and-gaming","11":"category-u-of-calgary"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/512"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45546"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45918,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45546\/revisions\/45918"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}