Saint Leo University will soon be trading in its golf cart for a self-driving vehicle.
The autonomous vehicle from COAST Autonomous will begin testing this summer, with a full launch expected in the fall on the Pasco County campus.
"I thought, 'Let's take something a little more ... not only cool, but can run 24/7 and have better routes than human-driven golf carts,'" Saint Leo University President Jeffrey Senese said.
The vehicle will be app driven, meaning students or faculty can request it any time day or night. Senese originally saw autonomous vehicles deployed at the University of Michigan and thought Saint Leo's campus — which is small but built on hills — was a good fit.
"We have the east and west campus — east campus is pretty fully developed and west is developing," he said. "The campus is very linear along the lake and hilly, so we need a way to connect."
While Senese said the school is still negotiating its contract with the provider, he said two autonomous vehicles cost less than $150,000. He said depending how the deployment of the first one goes, a second vehicle could be added. The vehicle will run entirely by itself, going at four miles an hour across the less than mile-long campus.
"It's not all that unique, but to universities it is," he said. "I mentioned it to students and they said, 'That's super cool.' We run a business; I'm trying to keep my customers happy."
In addition to the hot summer months, when walking across campus is less than ideal for students and staff, it will also be beneficial once the campus' $20 million wellness center has opened, Senese said.
"With the wellness center on the other side of the campus, I think there won't be many students who won’t use it," he said, adding the current golf cart transportation racks up thousands of rides each month. "And our 1,000 staff will certainly use it."
