Grand Rapids autonomous transit expanding to nearby cities, tribal stops

GRAND RAPIDS — The free autonomous transit system goMARTI will expand beyond Grand Rapids on Sept. 2.

The service will add more than 60 stops in Cohasset, Deer River and Ball Club. It will also add three non-autonomous vehicles to its fleet — one fully electric and two hybrids with wheelchair access — to drive passengers.

GoMARTI will also expand its hours to 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Sundays. There is currently no service on Monday, and weekday services are limited to the afternoon and evening.

The service will also launch a new goMARTI app to replace the current May Mobility one.

In July, goMARTI added new stops along South Pokegama Avenue in Grand Rapids, including the Judy Garland Museum, The Emeralds Assisted Living and several hotels. The goal was to create stops accessible to visitors as well as residents, said Trisha Peterson, who does community outreach for the PLUM Catalyst, the company that operates goMARTI.

“We wanted to hit the tourism piece of everything, the lodging piece of everything and make those door stops as we welcome anybody from near and far into our community and even those within the community, too,” Peterson said.

The service will add more stops this month, including First Call for Help and the Forest Lake Motel. By the time the additional stops go live on Sept. 2, goMARTI will have more than 150 stops.

Since the pilot program launched in 2022, goMARTI has aimed to fill gaps in existing rural transportation with five autonomous vehicles in Grand Rapids, including three with wheelchair access. It has also allowed the PLUM Catalyst to test new transportation technologies in a rural area.

“We are the only one in the world that is testing autonomous vehicles that are handicap-accessible in a rural area,” Peterson said. “We’re the only one in the world.”

Members of the community can request locations for stops on goMARTI’s website. All of the service’s stops and changes are based on community suggestions, Peterson said.

“I have transportation, so my need may not be the same as somebody else’s,” she said. “So, I need to ask that person, ‘Where do you need to go? Where would you want to go, and what time, and how would that help you?’”

Aside from a few bumps in the road, such as confusion over stop locations or fluctuating wait times, goMARTI has been working well, Peterson said. The service added an FAQ page to their website to address community questions.

“For the most part, people are now relying on it,” Peterson said. “People are getting to their medical appointments. People are getting to their jobs. People are getting to school.”

Creating a partnership

The expanded services into other Itasca County cites include stops within the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation.

The communities have been talking about goMARTI’s expansion for a while, said Amanda Youngrunningcrane, the administrative assistant for Leech Lake District 1 Rep. Kyle Fairbanks, who is the PLUM Catalyst’s legal and community point of contact.

When conversations first started, Youngrunningcrane said she wasn’t alone in doubting they would see goMARTI in their communities.

“I was like, ‘OK, yeah, let’s check this out,’ thinking it was a conversation and an idea, and then it would just fizzle out,” she said. “But then, working with Trisha and goMARTI and the Catalyst, it was just kind of like, ‘Wow, it’s actually really happening.’”

People in these tribal communities are excited for the service to go live, Youngrunningcrane said.

“I know that people will be really grateful for the service once it gets here, once it gets going,” she said.

Rural communities need access to public transportation, Youngrunningcrane said. Many people in these communities do not have licenses or access to a car, which makes getting to hubs like Grand Rapids a lot more difficult.

“I feel like it's always been a problem for employment, shopping — just everyday things that take place,” Youngrunningcrane said.

The PLUM Catalyst’s collaboration with the band has worked well, she said.

“We’re really thankful that they reached out to us to work with us and not come in and tell us, ‘This is what’s going to happen,’” she said. “They created a partnership, and it’s great to be a part of something that’s going to be impactful.”

Dani Fraher

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KAXE

How does goMARTI work?

GoMARTI works relatively similar to any rideshare app such as Uber or Lyft.

People can request a ride by calling First Call for Help at 211 or through the May Mobility app. Starting Sept. 2, mobile app services will transition to the new goMARTI app.

Riders set one of the predetermined stops as the pickup location and another as the destination. Wait times average between seven and 11 minutes, though they may fluctuate depending on traffic and ride availability, according to goMARTI’s FAQ page.

Unlike other self-driving cars, goMARTI does not use artificial intelligence to navigate. Instead, its routes and stops are pre-programmed using mapped technology and GPS, and each vehicle is equipped with sensors to respond to stop signs, traffic lights and surrounding vehicles and pedestrians.

The vehicles operate autonomously roughly 90% of the time, according to a March report from the state Department of Transportation. Minnesota requires a licensed driver to help operate the vehicles.

All goMARTI rides are free, as the service is paid for by state and federal funds, including a federal grant through the Department Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation that will allow it to run for free through 2028.

“We hope that the service continues, and we hope that we can keep it free,” Peterson said. “But what we do know for now is that we will continue this for another three years and the rides will continue to be free.”

Through ice and snow

Part of goMARTI’s research is testing how autonomous vehicles operate in a rural Minnesota winter.

Changing winter conditions posed multiple challenges to autonomous vehicles that depend on consistent pre-programmed routes, according to MnDOT’s March report. However, improvements such as reducing speeds and prioritizing routes on the main roads in the winter has helped the vehicles stay as autonomous as possible, as has adjusting stop locations and improving the sensors’ ability to recognize obstacles or blockages in the road.

Still, low temperatures can affect goMARTI. At below-zero temperatures, the sensors cannot function, meaning the vehicles cannot drive themselves, though operators drive manually to keep services going, according to the report.

At 22 degrees below zero, services are canceled. The vehicle’s cameras no longer function, and operators and passengers face safety concerns. Peterson said it is rare for services to be canceled due to weather.

“You can only count on one hand as far as times that operations needed to stop because it was just too cold,” she said. “I mean, we’re talking 20-30 below. It’s just not safe.”