RTA

In October 2023, the Riverside City Council approved a two-year pilot program to have the RTA operate, staff and maintain three automated, fully electric Ohmio shuttle buses.

But not Riverside’s, where officials say the whole route is mapped out and the person behind the wheel is there for just-in-case scenarios, helping passengers and communicating back with RTA headquarters, according to Assistant City Manager Rafael Guzman.

One of the first staffers to work on the Ohmio buses is Kimberly Quamina, an RTA worker for 39 years.

They will collect data along the way and share it with the RTA, which passes it along to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Department of Motor Vehicles in adherence with state and federal law, according to Guzman.

The first route is operating on a new route, while the two that follow are expected to blend new and existing RTA routes together.