The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has announced that customers at JFK International Airport will be able to participate in its first public self-driving vehicle pilot. The agency confirmed that it had received approval from the NHTSA to allow members of the public to ride in its shuttles (at no cost) being tested within a large, on-airport parking lot.
While currently underway at JFK, the new public pilot is the agency’s fourth AV test held at its major airports, following two previous tests of autonomous platooned vehicles held at JFK’s Aqueduct Parking Lot in 2023 and 2022, and a test involving a self-driving shuttle held in mixed traffic at Newark Liberty International Airport last year.
At JFK, the pilot will operate at Lot 9, the airport’s long-term parking lot, and feature safety attendants on board who currently serve as shuttle bus drivers contracted through ABM Aviation Inc. The agency stressed that during the pilot’s rides, all passengers must remain seated with a seat belt on for their safety.
The test vehicles, themselves, are owned by Ohmio – a supplier of AV technology based in New Zealand and California – and have been marked with signage to indicate their autonomous functionality. Over the course of the pilot, two eight-passenger vehicles will circulate around the perimeter of parking Lot 9 to bring customers closer to their parked cars. Along this route, it will make 15 stops, including those for AirTrain JFK stations at Howard Beach and Lefferts Blvd.
