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Bloomington Hosts State's First Driverless Bus Demonstration

The city of Bloomington hosted the state's first demonstration of a driverless bus on Friday on Kirkwood Avenue.

City officials worked with French company EasyMile to bring the electric vehicle to the city.

Bloomington Transit General Manager Lew May says the city has always looked for cutting-edge technology to improve public transportation.

"We at Bloomington Transit are very interested in how this technology potentially can be adapted right here in our own community, so today's demonstration is going to give us our first taste," May says.

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The vehicle moves without a driver by following a virtual line, mapped and loaded into the software.

Mayor John Hamilton says this form of transportation will be common in the not-so-distant future.

"I do not doubt that there are school children in Bloomington right now today who will be riding autonomous battery electric vehicles as a regular course of their life," he says.

The bus can go up to 25 miles per hour and seats 12 passengers at time.

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