BOCA RATON, Fla. — Boca Raton is moving forward with plans to expand its autonomous shuttle program, after a pilot program showed stronger ridership than a similar program tested in West Palm Beach.
The MiCa shuttle, a brightly colored, autonomous vehicle that carries up to seven passengers at a time, has been operating at Mizner Park since December 2025 in partnership with Guident, a tech company headquartered in Boca Raton.
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The route features five stops around the mall, with each loop taking about 12 minutes.
Zach Bihr, the city's public works and engineering director, said the program has been well received.
"I think most people are impressed with where the technology is right now," Bihr said.
The route was designed with rider experience in mind, according to Bihr.
"We didn't want to have 20 stops so it's start and stop, we also wanted to capture those heat spots where most people would be getting on and off," Bihr said.
Guident says the Boca Raton pilot is approaching 1,000 passengers, averaging 25 riders per day.
That outpaces what West Palm Beach saw when it tested a similar MiCa program at CityPlace last summer. That pilot carried about 1,300 total riders — roughly 15 per day, or about three passengers per hour.
West Palm Beach ended the program after six months, with data showing that most riders were first-time users curious about the technology, rather than regular commuters. The city also found that the short route and limited shuttle frequency meant walking was often just as fast as riding MiCa.
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Boca Raton is hoping to avoid those same pitfalls. The city plans to extend the route come April.
"Get pedestrians from Mizner Park to Royal Palm Plaza. We have two major destinations within the city, disconnected by Palmetto Park Road. And we've heard from a lot of residents that they want to be able to move between those spaces," Bihr said.
The long-term vision for the program includes a medical route connecting nursing homes and other care facilities with hospitals and doctors' offices.
Riders may be surprised to find that a human operator is still on board, though. In both Boca Raton and West Palm Beach, the shuttles ran autonomously 95% of the time, with the operator available to step in if needed.
The MiCa shuttle is available at Mizner Park Thursday through Sunday, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
