Self driving shuttle provider Optimus Ride is launching an autonomous bus service on the Washington DC waterfront at The Yards. The company is also launching an app, Opti Ride, to make hailing Optimus Ride shuttles easier.

The new Washington DC based service gives passengers rides to seven stops across The Yards and to external locations at Capitol Hill and Barrack’s Row through the app.

Optimus Ride combines computer vision, sensing technologies, and deep learning algorithms to provide autonomous mobility to communities, campuses and mixed use developments.

The Opti Ride app is designed to enhance the passenger experience with flexible ride scheduling and reservation. The Yards is the first site with the Opti Ride app available for use, and Optimus Ride will consider rollout at other sites in the future.

The passenger mobility service is being rolled out in phases at The Yards, with a group of residents and tenants invited to download the Opti Ride App and join a waitlist to use the service; once verified, passengers are given access to begin scheduling rides.

At launch, Optimus Ride’s service operates across two stops within the development including shops, restaurants, and resident buildings and five stops at external locations at Capitol Hill and Barrack’s Row, with more site additions planned in the future.

The Optimus Ride fleet previously provided food delivery at The Yards; the service was used for more than 6,000 deliveries of prepared foods and groceries to communities in need during the pandemic and to local patrons of The Yards restaurants.

“Optimus Ride has concentrated on delivering a turnkey autonomous, electric mobility service that provides safe and convenient mobility to campuses, corporations, and other mixed-use developments like Brookfield’s The Yards. With five successful deployments underway, we’ve broadened our focus to enhance the passenger experience and include new benefits for both our customers and their communities with the Opti Ride app,” said Optimus Ride CEO Sean Harrington.

“We’re excited to work with Brookfield Properties to introduce the app at The Yards to enable flexible and convenient ride reservation and scheduling to their residents and tenants,” Harrington said. “We’re confident that this added passenger experience will propel Optimus Ride further along on its mission to transform mobility.”

“Brookfield Properties has experienced the value of the Optimus Ride autonomous, electric mobility service already at the Halley Rise development in Reston, VA. We’re excited to offer this service to our residents and tenants, and we jumped at the opportunity to add the Opti Ride app experience,” said Toby Millman, Senior Vice President, Development at Brookfield Properties. “Adding ride scheduling and reservation enhances the convenience with on-demand service to safely navigate the array of shopping and dining experiences and connect The Yards to neighborhoods like Capitol Hill and Barracks Row.”