Opinion: A Glimpse Into the Future of Transportation — Without a Steering Wheel

When I first stepped into a driverless shuttle at the Riverside Airport, I wasn’t sure what to expect. From the outside, the shuttle looked relatively ordinary—boxy, compact, and accented with flares of green, orange, and blue. But inside, it felt like something lifted from a sci-fi film. There was no steering wheel, no driver’s seat—just a touchscreen, a few rows of seats, and a low, steady hum.

The shuttle is the work of Ohmio, a company specializing in electric autonomous vehicles. Originally founded in New Zealand, Ohmio recently moved its global headquarters to Riverside, where it's quietly piloting a new chapter in transportation technology.

At present, the company’s shuttles operate exclusively at the Riverside Airport. The route is a short loop—roughly 10 minutes roundtrip—with no stops, starting and ending at the Riverside Airport Café. Due to current regulatory restrictions, the shuttles are limited to a top speed of 15 miles per hour. But Ohmio hopes to increase those limits as testing continues, always with safety and control in mind.

For all the anticipation that comes with autonomous vehicles, what surprised me most wasn’t the cutting-edge technology—it was how normal the ride felt. The shuttle moved smoothly through turns, made a gentle stop at the midpoint, and cruised calmly back to its starting point. There were no jerky motions or strange noises. At one point, I even found myself casually checking my phone, forgetting for a moment that I was in a vehicle navigating itself.

“Our goal is to make transportation accessible to everyone,” said Zayn Mashat, Ohmio’s director of business development.

With its airport trial now complete, Ohmio is planning to launch additional pilot routes later this year—potentially at UC Riverside and in the downtown area. If all goes according to plan, it may not be long before autonomous vehicles become part of daily life in Riverside.

For now, it all starts with a quiet ride around the airport—and no steering wheel in sight.

By Erik Chen