Community Liaisons Experience GO Connect Pilot Project, Prompting Plans to Improve the Mobile App

March 8, 2022

Last month the Community Liaisons participated in the pilot project experience of GO Connect transit service. The GO Connect pilot project is provided by Miami-Dade County and powered by Via, and allows users to reserve a ride to and from Miami-Dade transit stations and/or nearby destinations. GO Connect is currently piloting in several service areas throughout the County. The Community Liaisons navigated the GO Connect mobile app and experienced the ride for themselves, taking into consideration all aspects of the project to explore if a new mobility initiative like GO Connect could be a good fit for their community.

Community Liaisons found that the service could fulfill a need for those who experience mobility challenges getting to nearby transit stops. Community Liaisons also noted that pick up locations from the mobile app sometimes generated locations that could not be easily accessed due to lack of a crosswalk or that felt unsafe due to being more secluded, too close to fast-moving traffic, or not well lit at night. 

Miami-Dade County and Via received their feedback and immediately responded to their concerns. In response to the Community Liaisons’ feedback, Miami-Dade County is reviewing the County’s Request For Proposal (RFP) process for opportunities to improve similar services in the future while Via invited the Community Liaisons to meet their staff in hopes they could understand and begin to address their concerns about the app’s pick up locations. Several of the Community Liaisons have already met with Via and feel that the company has been receptive to their feedback.

Community Liaisons Test Out the Kiwibot

November 6, 2021

On November 6th, Community Liaisons from Little Havana and Hialeah convened at the Underline to test out the delivery robot pilot project. Everyone used the Kiwibot shopify page to order lunch on their mobile phones, and followed the bots as they navigated the sidewalk to make their way to the Underline ‘dining room.’ The interactions with the Kiwibots spurred a lot of discussion about how the technology could influence their community. 

The Community Liaisons discussed ways that the bots could potentially reduce environmental impacts, what challenges may be experienced ordering the delivery for community members less experienced with apps, and how to integrate the robots to support community needs and prevent job loss. 

Yumeira and Lolimar made plans to bring a Kiwibot demonstration to a Little Havana community walking group so more residents could experience it live for themselves. Stay tuned for this experience.

Round 2 of Community Liaisons Meeting the Kiwibot

October 28, 2021

On October 28th we had a second group of our Community Liaisons from Overtown and Miami Gardens experience delivery robots in the midst of the busy Downtown/Brickell area. The delivery robots traveled alongside the Brickell pedestrians and their pups, carefully navigated the busy vehicle traffic as it crossed roads, and safely  made their way to our Community Liaisons to deliver their lunch orders. Check out a few notations below from our Community Liaisons.

Community Liaison Tara said she “enjoyed the experience”. “I was fascinated that Kiwibot understood perceptions of red lights and other surrounding areas. It would be great if this could be used for the Walmart employees in Miami Gardens since they closed down the internal McDonalds in Walmart. McDonalds was a main source for the employees to get a quick lunch, but if they had a Kiwibot, lunch could be brought to them.” 

Community Liaison Ivory from Overtown said he was “amazed to see how Kiwibot noticed it’s surroundings.”

Community Liaisons Meet the Kiwibot

October 26, 2021

The first mobility pilot of the New Mobility Initiative has arrived, and its an autonomous delivery robot currently delivering food in Brickell. Today, Community Liaisons took a stroll to the Brickell area to experience the Kiwibot for themselves, and reflect on how the technology may be useful into their own communities. Community Liaisons from Overtown, Sweetwater, and Homestead joined representatives from Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation to try out the bots for lunch.

Raquel, a Community Liaison representing Overtown remarked that delivery robots are “a great idea for a lot of the people in Overtown without transportation.”

Carmen, a Community Liaison representing Sweetwater shared “I liked it, it was very interesting. It was very quick compared to other food delivery services. It’s great for technology, but it is going to take away some jobs.”

Romania, Community Liaison from Sweetwater reflected that a couple members of the group had trouble getting a good connection to the internet, making it difficult to order on the app. “That’s going to be a big issue in a community where people have no or little internet.”