DALLAS — A bunch of code on a computer screen isn’t typically what comes to mind when you think of driving. But for Shawn Taikratoke it’s the first step to solving what he says is a complex problem.
“Transportation sucks. Like that's basically at its core,” he said.
After more than two years of collecting data and programming it, he says he has a solution that brings what’s on his computer screen to life.
“We’re at a little over 2 million lines of code,” he said. “And we’ve finally figured out how to bridge the gap.”
The start-up, Mozee, is building a fleet of trolley-like self-driving vehicles. And soon you’ll start seeing them around North Texas.
“Being able to kind of ‘mozee’ through your city,” Taikratoke said. “Just building a mesh network of these vehicles on predefined routes, kind of like a trolley with, you know, like no track. And so like be able to go from point A to point B for the cost of a bus ticket is quite a big deal.”
Their first pilot program is slated for March with a government entity they can’t publicly name yet.
“It’s going to be shuttling government employees between six government buildings,” he said.
Then another, later this year at JP Morgan and Chase’s Plano campus.
“We feel that Dallas or DFW in general is the perfect kind of breeding ground for autonomy and self-driving,” he said.
Their fleet is designed specifically for short hauls, a space Taikratoke says is untapped.
“Range is about 100 miles on like a single charge and then it holds about 12 passengers, seating and standing. The top speeds up to 45 miles an hour,” he said.
The small team at their Dallas Design District headquarters is finishing the design, retrofitting the vehicles, and doing lots and lots of testing.
“So we are actually redoing the entire interior of the vehicle. So it's more of just like a repository of the seats finalizing on our autonomous kit system,” he said.
Taikratoke says they’re learning from other autonomous vehicle companies like Cruise who suspended their fleet nationwide after being banned in California and is now facing a handful of federal investigations.
He says they're doing things differently so they don’t run into the same issues.