SpartanXpress, MSU’s autonomous bus, is ready for rides and research 

Michigan State University has a new way for students, faculty, staff and visitors to get around campus for free while also contributing to the future of mobility research. The SpartanXpress, MSU’s new autonomous and electric bus on campus is ready for passengers with a fresh look, new route and exciting research opportunities to explore.

Thanks to the university’s latest three-year partnership with ADASTEC, a leading software company that specializes in automated driving solutions, the full-size, 21-seat bus travels a 5.12-mile loop around campus with stops at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts and Anthony Hall.

“With our real-life, four-season testing and validation environment here at MSU, these are exactly the types of valuable collaborations that bring a taste of the future to campus and give everyone access to the extensive mobility opportunities in our great state,” said Judd Herzer, director of MSU Mobility and Innovation. “Having this bus on campus will have a strong impact on our mobility research as we gain access to loads of real-life testing data and give our students a unique opportunity they may not get elsewhere.”

As the SpartanXpress cruises around campus, it is equipped with the latest in light detection and ranging, or LiDAR, technology to monitor anything in the bus’s path, a global navigation satellite system, or GNSS, and cellular vehicle-to-everything, or C-V2X, technology that can alert the bus and it’s safety driver of dynamic road conditions during changing weather conditions.

“Every great transformation begins with a bold step,” said Ali Peker, CEO of ADASTEC. “What we are doing with Michigan State University is more than deploying an automated bus, this bus is a living laboratory that proves advanced technology can safely operate on open public roads, through every season, while delivering real value to students, researchers and the wider community. From this campus, we are not only carrying passengers, but we are also carrying the vision of a world where technology and society move forward together toward cleaner, smarter and more connected cities.”

Peker explained how the research done on MSU’s campus in adverse weather conditions translates to better technologies used around the world in Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands.

“The SpartanXpress is a great example of real-world deployment of autonomous vehicles,” said Matt Klawon of AECOM, an engineering company that formed the Automated Bus Consortium to support the development of automated bus projects across the U.S. “This is exactly what the Automated Bus Consortium is helping our partner transit agencies achieve.”

The bus will run Monday through Friday between 10:05 a.m. and 3:25 p.m. No pass is required for the SpartanXpress. Ridership is free and open to students, faculty, staff, campus visitors and community members.

For the complete schedule and to learn more about MSU’s live, connected mobility ecosystem, visit the MSU Mobility website.