easymile’s shuttles were suspended in late February after a passenger fell out of her seat during a sudden stop in Columbus, Ohio.

easymile’s shuttles will also feature more signage and audio announcements that warn passengers about the possibility of sudden stops. The company says it will train the safety operators on the shuttles to’remind passengers to hold on with feet firmly on the floor’.

Nhtsa is adding seat belts to our US-based shuttles. The company says the seatbelts are not standard in mainstream public transport.

The covid-19 pandemic has cratered public transportation ridership and created concerns about closely shared spaces. easymile says its US-based shuttle services will’start up progressively’ as local public health orders allow.

easymile trial service will be trialled in Columbus. The citywide transportation project tapped easymile for the trial service. Smart Columbus will be’checking when it might be prudent to return to passenger service based on state and local public health guidance’.

Each shuttle will also have to be cleared by the NHTSA. Local operators will have to submit a request that shows all the corrective actions have been taken.

The NHTSA ordered easymile to suspend its shuttles in late February after one of the two operating in Linden, North of the Columbus downtown, performed an emergency stop. Smart Columbus said the incident was’triggered by a slight deviation in the steering of the shuttle’.