The council’s “purposes are to perform long-range, comprehensive plans for matters that transcend jurisdictional boundaries, promote the sound development of the 16-county region and facilitate cooperation and coordination among its member governments” in an area expected to reach 8 million residents by 2025.
The council’s 16 counties include Tarrant and Dallas; it’s headquarted in Arlington and has more than $143 million in its total budget. More than $30 million is set aside for autonomous transportation projects, according to the mobility plan.
Recently, many area entities have piloted or tested automated vehicles.
- The University of Texas at Dallas uses Starship robots to deliver food.
- Frisco has tested multiple ways to incorporate automated vehicles.
- Dallas Fort Worth Airport tested automated transports for luggage transfer.
Documents on the NCTCOG website refer to autonomous vehicles as people movers, avenues to less traffic congestion and delivery modes for goods and services. The council has identified 10 locations where automated transport might be used.
“NCTCOG is advancing two locations (one focused on people movement, the other focused on freight movement) in conjunction with public and private stakeholders through the project planning and engineering/development phases,” according to both requests.
Requirements for the automated transportation vehicles RFI include:
- Vehicles can run on flat surfaces rather than traditional track-based infrastructure.
- Navigation and guidance will be “contained within the vehicle.”
- The systems could run in “an exclusive right of way” but also “operate in mixed traffic if desired.”
- Vehicles should be able to be operated alone or as part of a system.
Vendors must list, among other items:
- Technology status, proof of service, various uses, maintenance and planned improvements.
- Vehicle specifications including dimensions and weight, acceleration and deceleration and turn radius.
- Guideway infrastructure, passenger interfaces, power capabilities, controls and future technologies.
Vendors submitting information for wireless charging solutions for electric vehicles have the same deadline as the ATS vehicle RFI, which is Aug. 5.
The submission must list, among other items:
- Wireless charging design and limitations.
- Compatibility with various ATS and environments.
- Technology status including pilot projects, deployment and suppliers.
- Maintenance and planned improvements.
- Performance specifications including power and interface requirements.
- Roadway/guideway requirements, charging stations, durability and regulation, among others.
Written questions concerning the RFIs should be emailed to TransRFPs@nctcog.org by 5 p.m. July 15. Submissions are due at 5 p.m. Aug. 5.
