SMART Rider Advanced Safety Technologies for Transit

Gery Noirot, Preeti Choudhary, Shaz Umer, Jamael Tito Brown, Dean Harris

While public transit is among the safest modes of transportation in the United States, crashes involving public transit buses, passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycle riders, bicyclists, and pedestrians do occur. 

NEORide's SMART Rider demonstration project, which is funded by a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grant that was awarded to the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA), NEORide, and the Ohio Transit Risk Pool (OTRP) in 2023, is designed to test and evaluate the role advanced vehicle safety technologies can play in reducing the number and severity of those accidents.

The testing and evaluation process will be conducted on vehicles owned by three Ohio-based transit agencies: Butler County Regional Transit Authority (BCRTA), Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) and Western Reserve Transit Authority (WRTA).

From October 2025 through August 2026 each agency will operate two vehicles retrofit with Perrone Robotics' TONY/MAX advanced driver assistance system in fixed route service in rural, suburban, and urban communities. The system, like those installed in modern private vehicles, monitors road and traffic conditions and includes these safety-enhancing features:

• Adaptive Cruise Control which controls the distance between moving vehicles and adjusts speed, reducing the number of vehicle collisions.
  

• Forward Collision Avoidance that uses automated braking to prevent crashes
  

• Lane Keeping Assistance that alerts drivers if a vehicle is leaving or has left the lane and corrects the trajectory of the vehicle, reducing head-on collisions.
  

• Data Logging that vehicle status, including speed, braking status and safety system performance to record information in the event of a crash

NEORide SMART Rider Project Team

Gery Noirot, Preeti Choudhary, Shaz Umer, Jamael Tito Brown, Dean Harris

Shaz Umer, U.S. DOT Director of Strategic Initiatives

Preeti Choudhary, Executive Director, Drive Ohio

Gery Noirot, Deputy Director, District Four, Ohio Department of Transportation

Vehicle operator

Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown and Shaz Umer, U.S. DOT Director of Strategic Initiatives

NEORide SMART Rider Project Team

WRTA vehicle

WRTA vehicle

WRTA vehicle

Dean Harris, Chief Executive Officer, WRTA

Dean Harris, Chief Executive Officer, WRTA

Dean Harris, Chief Executive Officer, WRTA

Dean Harris, Chief Executive Officer, WRTA

Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown

Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown

Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown

Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown

Gery Noirot, Deputy Director, District Four, Ohio Department of Transportation

Gery Noirot, Deputy Director, District Four, Ohio Department of Transportation

Gery Noirot, Deputy Director, District Four, Ohio Department of Transportation

Gery Noirot, Deputy Director, District Four, Ohio Department of Transportation

Preeti Choudhary, Executive Director, Drive Ohio

Preeti Choudhary, Executive Director, Drive Ohio

Preeti Choudhary, Executive Director, Drive Ohio

Shaz Umer, U.S. DOT Director of Strategic Initiatives

Shaz Umer, U.S. DOT Director of Strategic Initiatives

Shaz Umer, U.S. DOT Director of Strategic Initiatives

Shaz Umer, U.S. DOT Director of Strategic Initiatives

Shaz Umer, U.S. DOT Director of Strategic Initiatives

Gery Noirot, Preeti Choudhary, Shaz Umer, Jamael Tito Brown, Dean Harris

WRTA vehicle

Shaz Umer, U.S. DOT Director of Strategic Initiatives

Shaz Umer, U.S. DOT Director of Strategic Initiatives

WRTA vehicle

Shaz Umer, U.S. DOT Director of Strategic Initiatives

Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown

NEORide SMART Rider Project Team

NEORide SMART Rider Project Team

Ralph Lee, Interim CEO by SARTA

Ralph Lee, Interim CEO by SARTA

Ralph Lee, Interim CEO by SARTA

Ralph Lee, Interim CEO by SARTA

Gery Noirot, Deputy Director, District Four, Ohio Department of Transportation

Preeti Choudhary, Executive Director, Drive Ohio

Shaz Umer, U.S. DOT Director of Strategic Initiatives

Shaz Umer, U.S. DOT Director of Strategic Initiatives

Shaz Umer, U.S. DOT Director of Strategic Initiatives

Shaz Umer, U.S. DOT Director of Strategic Initiatives

Shaz Umer, U.S. DOT Director of Strategic Initiatives

Shaz Umer, U.S. DOT Director of Strategic Initiatives

Watch the full SMART Rider press events at WRTA and SARTA here!

Video coming soon!

NEORide and its partners will share thousands of miles worth of data and real-world experiences accumulated during the project with transit agencies, elected officials, and other stakeholders. We are confident the lessons learned from Smart Rider will spur the widespread adoption of advanced driver assistance technologies by transit systems across the United States that share our commitment to safety.

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In the News

SARTA

• Canton Repository (09/10/2025): SARTA showcases the new anti-collision bus technology coming soon to Stark County

• Yahoo News (09/10/2025): SARTA showcases the new anti-collision bus technology coming soon to Stark County

• WHBC (09/11/2025): ‘Smart Bus’ Demonstrated for SARTA, Agency Getting Two of Them

WRTA

• WKBN (09/09/2025): WRTA showcases new bus technology

• WFMJ (09/09/2025): WRTA unveils new safety features on buses

• The Vindicator (09/10/2025): Tech boosts bus safety

• Mahoning Matters (09/11/2025): Western Reserve Transit Authority unveils new, advanced safety technology integrating into fleet

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