Yellowstone National Park announced this week that it will begin testing a low-speed automated shuttle system in 2021.
The automated shuttle from vendor Florida-based company Beep, Inc. will serve the Canyon Village campground, visitor services, and the nearby visitor lodging area. Canyon Village is north of Yellowstone Lake and is a popular area, especially during the peak summer months. Specific stops and times for the shuttle have not yet been determined.
The automated shuttle was an idea created in consultation with NPS Park Planning, Facilities and Lands Directorate and the Department of Transportation, according to the release.
“Yellowstone and the NPS are proactively engaging with emerging transportation technologies by looking for ways to test, pilot and learn from these capabilities,” said Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly in the news release announcing the shuttle system. “We will continue exploring possible ways to reduce congestion and to improve visitor experience and access in heavily travelled areas of the park.
The most popular roads in the park are over capacity by about 29% during July, according to the release. Those roads include the West Entrance to Madison Junction, Madison Junction to Old Faithful and to Norris Junction, Old Faithful to West Thumb and Norris Junction to Canyon Village.
The park has tested out a few different ways to help relieve that congestion, like having extra staff stationed in extra-congested parking areas. A 2019 pilot project at Norris Junction stationed staff to help test the efficiency of the overflow parking on the Grand Loop Road. That project showed that staffing can help visitors safely access areas where parking is limited.
Yellowstone also announced Thursday that it will be conducting a transit study in conjunction with the NPS Intermountain Regional Alternative Transportation Program, the NPS Denver Service Center and the DOT Volpe Center.
That study, which is expected to wrap up in 2022, will assess the risks and costs that could be associated with additional shuttles around Old Faithful and Canyon Village. The study’s outcome will help the park decide whether a transit service would work for Yellowstone.
Both the Beep, Inc. shuttle and the transit survey are part of Yellowstone’s Visitor Use Management Program.
