Beep Inc., along with MOIA America, have given first rides in Orlando, Fla., in the Lake Nona community—the first time MOIA America has operated autonomous rides on U.S. soil, while BENTELER is introducing a new modular mobility solution that can manage autonomous shuttles.

Beep Inc. and MOIA America deliver first rides through partnership

The companies say this passenger ride phase represents the next stage of testing in Lake Nona, adding passenger operations to MOIA America’s ongoing testing and validation activities across U.S. markets. 

Invited riders can experience the service by requesting trips directly through the Beep app and provide feedback to help inform future operations. Riders will board and depart self-driving Volkswagen ID. Buzz vehicles at dedicated pickup and drop-off locations along three planned routes within the Lake Nona community. During this phase, the vehicles will operate with onboard human operators.

“This deployment is a defining milestone in our journey to make autonomous mobility a practical and scalable transportation option for communities across the United States," said Beep Inc. co-founder and Senior Vice President Mark Reid. “The launch of passenger service in Lake Nona, with vehicles now operating at full traffic speeds, represents the introduction of an end-to-end autonomous microtransit solution that can expand access, strengthen connectivity through on-demand capabilities and serve as a natural extension of existing mobility networks. Together, Beep and MOIA America are advancing the development and deployment of shared autonomous mobility.”

Through a partnership with Beep Inc., MOIA America provides the MOIA brand’s turnkey autonomous mobility solution. This includes autonomous ID. Buzz vehicles equipped with the self-driving system developed by Mobileye, as well as operator training and enablement. MOIA America says say the integrated solution helps autonomous vehicle fleet operators deploy and manage an autonomous driving ecosystem, starting in Lake Nona.

“Welcoming riders represents an exciting and important milestone for MOIA America as we introduce our first public-facing autonomous mobility experience in the U.S.,” said MOIA America Co-President Paul DeLong. “Each trip helps us better understand how people interact with autonomous transportation in everyday settings while demonstrating how this technology can support growing communities and complement existing transportation networks.” 

As MOIA America and Beep Inc. advance autonomous mobility offerings in Lake Nona, interested riders can join the Beep waitlist to receive updates on future ride opportunities and the ongoing development of autonomous transportation services across Central Florida on Beep’s website.

BENTELER to launch modular mobility management system

BENTELER Mobility has announced it is introducing its new modular mobility solution to the U.S. market. The company says the offering works to address a challenge for transit agencies: improving service despite constrained budgets.

BENTELER says the software allows agencies to rapidly model different service scenarios based on actual demand—like how to deliver better service within a given budget, redesign routes or identify new routes that can operate sustainably. What it says traditionally requires months of planning, can be assessed across multiple scenarios in a fraction of the time. The resulting service can then be managed on an integrated platform, with automation applied where it makes operational and economic sense for an agency. BENTELER notes that it offers flexible financing, allowing the program to be integrated into an agency’s existing fleet replacement cycle.

The company notes that the offering brings together complementary capabilities from across BENTELER: artificial intelligence platform ioki provides network analytics and an integrated platform for managing fixed-route, on-demand and autonomous services. HOLON contributes its purpose-built, ADA-accessible autonomous shuttle for up to 15 passengers. BENTELER Mobility integrates these elements and provides financing solutions that structure the vehicles, digital platform and deployment support as predictable operating costs rather than a major upfront capital request. 

“Transit agencies are under growing pressure to protect service and improve performance despite constrained budgets,” said BENTELER Mobility CEO Tobias Liebelt. “We help them identify where change will make the biggest difference and bring together the right combination of service design, vehicles, software, infrastructure, operations and financing—built around their existing network, operating model and budget. With one point of coordination from planning through operations, agencies can reduce complexity, move beyond pilots and deliver reliable, financially sustainable service every day. The result is a start-to-finish mobility ecosystem.” 

BENTELER notes that transit agencies can use the complete offering or select individual elements that complement capabilities and partners already in place.

ioki contributes data-driven analytics and an operating platform. With ioki’s digital twin and scenario modeling, agencies can model route changes or new service concepts against actual ridership patterns and cost structures before implementation. This lets planners identify which service configurations deliver cost-effective operations. Once decided, BENTELER notes that the ioki platform manages the day-to-day execution, orchestrating fleet operations through one system and passenger interfaces across different forms of transit.

HOLON provides the purpose-built HOLON urban autonomous shuttle. The vehicle is ADA-accessible and carries 15 passengers, with automatic wheelchair harnessing that secures a passenger without an operator doing it by hand. 

BENTELER Mobility’s financing solution target high upfront investment costs. By spreading the cost of vehicles, platform and deployment support across a multi-year term, BENTRELER says agencies can build up fleets faster with the budgets already available to them.

The approach coincides with ioki’s upcoming expansion into the United States. ioki expands into the U.S. market with a new subsidiary and local team. In Europe, BENTELER notes that ioki’s platform has already supported more than 200 transit services and served more than 10 million passengers. Further, the company says it has analyzed and simulated billions of mobility patterns and citizen journeys to identify demand and efficiency potential in existing transit networks.