Transportation Troubleshooting: YARD Work: Harnessing Advanced Technologies for Efficient Transit Operations

Transit agencies across the United States continue to face major budget restraints and staffing shortages. This is why opportunities for innovative research and development are becoming even more crucial, such as the greater implementation of automated vehicles (AVs).

In April 2025, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy unveiled the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s new AV Framework. The first actions of this framework are meant to accelerate the modernization of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety standards, which will advance safe, commercial deployments of AVs.

Research and development into AVs show great promise, and my colleague Severin Skolrud, vice president, critical and emerging technology, national transit and rail at WSP in the U.S., and his team have seen this potential firsthand.

For years, Skolrud and his team have been collaborating with the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CapMetro), the regional public transit agency for the city of Austin, Texas, and others to automate one of the agency’s New Flyer 40-foot battery electric buses (BEBs).

Dubbed the Yard Automation Research and Deployment (YARD) Program, the program’s ongoing research demonstrates how this technology can help transit agencies reduce their operating costs, enhance operator safety and efficiency, and steadily transition from internal combustion power to zero-emission.

This was seen firsthand in an April 2025 demonstration, when CapMetro deployed the first SAE Level 4, automated 40-foot BEB within an active bus yard in North America.

“It was a proud moment for the project team,” notes Skolrud. “True innovation begins with market-first deployments such as this, which identify challenges yet demonstrate the underlying long-term potential and return on investment.”

 

Successful Demonstration

As project manager, Skolrud has long had an active role in developing this groundbreaking project. He and his team led the April demonstration at CapMetro’s North Ops and Maintenance Facility, working alongside YARD partners Perrone Robotics Inc., Texas A&M Transportation Institute and Clever Devices.

But how did it go?

“Perrone Robotics installed a CapMetro BEB with its TONY (TO Navigate You) retrofit kit, turning it into a fully autonomous vehicle with advanced, YARD-optimized autonomous operations software,” explains Skolrud. “Then, during the demonstration, the bus encountered pedestrians, vehicles and large objects—all within an active transit depot. But it instantly adapted to these changing situations to complete its assigned route.”

“In its most complex maneuver,” he continues, “the bus parked underneath an overhead pantograph charging dispenser within 5 to 7 centimeters of accuracy and initiated a charging session—all without anyone behind the steering wheel.”

In short, it was a tremendous success.

Future Possibilities

When I asked Skolrud what the next steps for CapMetro’s YARD Program could be, he talked about the possibilities for a potential Phase Two: expanding implementation up to three BEBs, deeper integration with the vehicle platform and a multi-year deployment.

There’s also the potential of automated dispatch software that can remotely start and pre-condition each of the buses, allowing them to safely drive to a designated area closer to the facility, where operators can perform their pre-trip inspections.

This is crucial for applying the benefits of YARD automation to bus drivers operating in revenue service as well as maximizing the technology’s safety and reliability throughout the complete operations of these buses.

Creating Opportunities

The YARD Program’s research shows a lot of promise in reducing costs for zero-emission fleets as well as boosting existing yard capacity and safety for drivers, mechanics and others who work in active bus depots.

This technology also allows for driver-assistance solutions such as automated braking and object detection, which improves the operator’s safety during revenue service.

Early testing has revealed that this technology can increase yard capacity by 80 to 90 percent, creating valuable space to build additional facilities or sell land parcels for additional revenue. The system also can reduce trip time by an average of six to eight minutes, creating even more savings for agency operations.

It’s clear to me that CapMetro’s commitment to this research and development opportunity shows how transit agencies can innovate in ways that not only address financial concerns, but also improve safety and efficiency of their operators. 

Author’s Note: Learn more about the CapMetro YARD program, including a short video of the demonstration, by visiting iimag.link/TRaJY