Central Florida's first autonomous buses begin routes in Lake Nona

LAKE NONA, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - Beep! It's the new autonomous electric shuttle that is going to provide free services in Lake Nona.

It is Central Florida's first autonomous shuttle that has room for ten passengers on board and can travel up to 15 miles per hour.

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"They can move faster than that, but we are trying to walk before we run if you will," Beep CEO Joe Moye said. "We want to be at a speed where we're able to integrate with traffic but also realize it is new technology."

The two shuttles will operate on a fixed route between Lake Nona Town Center and Laureate Park Village Center.

They will run daily from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Pick up and drop offs are only available at two designated stops for now and people will not be able to hail a ride like a taxi.

While driverless, there is always an attendant inside should they need to take over manually.

Beep officials said the technology responds three times faster than a human when reacting to any kind of obstacle.

"The technology is perfectly safe," Moye said.

Local leaders said they're excited for this new technological chapter in Orlando's transportation industry.

"Autonomous vehicles are coming," Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said. "I don't know when they're going to be common place – but they're coming."

More are coming sooner rather than later.

"We're going to be expanding very aggressively here in Lake Nona," Moye said. "So we have plans for a number of new routes that will be deployed. Some toward the end of this year into next year. So it will be evolving over the next 18 months."

During this initial launch period, the cost to ride the shuttles will be free.