Autonomous Vehicles (AV) Deployment

The Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) invites you to hop aboard and experience Beep, a state-of-the-art, electric automated vehicle (AV) shuttle.

In collaboration with Miami-Dade County’s Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department, DTPW and Beep, a leading provider of shared, electric, and autonomous mobility solutions for first, last and only mile applications, will start testing a low-speed, automated vehicle (AV) shuttle within Zoo Miami starting in Sept. 2022.

- Understand AV shuttle capabilities with existing technology
- Educate and expose residents to automated vehicles
- Gather usage data
- Collect perception and engagement information
Funded by the Knight Foundation, this demonstration project will help guide DTPW’s long-term transportation plan and prepare for future changes in the transportation industry.

The data collected during the demonstration at Zoo Miami will also help to better understand how emerging transportation technologies can align with the County’s mission of connecting people to places with high-quality, safe, reliable, clean, and efficient public transportation.
Zoo Miami visitors will get a chance to hop and ride the electric, self-driving Beep shuttle from a designated area in the parking lot to the Zoo’s entrance. For safety, a shuttle attendant will always ride on the Beep automated vehicle. DTPW and Beep will implement a survey to gauge riders’ perception of the AV.

Visitor and employee safety are at the forefront of this project. The shuttle will have two layers of monitoring. The shuttle attendant onboard will ensure the vehicle is operating safely and will provide passengers with a safety briefing prior to the shuttle’s movement. Additionally, the vehicle will be continuously monitored by Beep’s Command Center.
Due to its diverse visitor population with more than one million visitors in 2021, Zoo Miami was an ideal site for the nearly four-month test to gather information intended to advance the County’s long-term goals and plans for AV first and last mile mobility solutions.

From late-Sept. 2022 to the end of the year, the county will work with Beep to plan, manage and implement a fixed-route through the parking lot for Zoo visitors to access the entrance faster and for the community to experience the shuttle.

The parking lot route will operate Wednesday to Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The low-speed, autonomous, electric shuttle will pick-up passengers from designated locations throughout the parking lot and take them to the Zoo’s entrance.
Contributing to the pilot is easy! Come to Zoo Miami, hop onboard and tell us what you think.

Your feedback during the project is critical to garnering feedback. You can easily provide your feedback by taking the survey onboard the shuttle.

The low-speed, autonomous, electric shuttles will pick-up passengers from designated locations throughout the parking lot Wednesday to Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Over the course of the nearly four-month project, the county expects to better understand AV shuttle technology and its current and future capabilities.

Secondly, it seeks to educate, expose, and survey the community on their perceptions of AVs.

Lastly, gather data and information to guide our long-range transportation plan and prepare for emerging technologies. We are looking forward to providing a safe pilot and great experience for the entire community and visitors at Zoo Miami.

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Interest Categories

Online Services

News & Social Media

Create a new miamidade.gov account

Elected Officials

County Agencies

Transparency & Open Data

Employee Information

My Employee Portal

Autonomous Vehicles (AV) Deployment

The project’s goal

How it works

Why Zoo Miami?

Community participation

Project results expected

Project funding

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Transportation and Public Works