2025: A Year of Scans, Simulators, and Seriously Busy Buses

If 2025 had a theme at Drivers of Tomorrow, it would be:

“What if driver training didn’t have to be limited by reality?”

This year, our trainees were able to do the IMPOSSIBLE, the DANGEROUS, and the EXPENSIVE - by creating experiences that you just cant do in the real world.

We scanned buses, stress-tested hundreds and thousands of pedestrians in crowds, create room and budget specific simulators, helped agencies rethink pre-trip training, and proved (once again) that learning sticks better when it’s immersive, portable, and fun.

Here’s a look back at some of the coolest things we built, tested, and learned in 2025.

We Turned a Real Bus Into a Digital Twin

One of our milestones this year was completing a full hyperscan of a transit bus using high-resolution LiDAR and photogrammetry. In plain English: we captured everything.

Every compartment.

Every switch.

Every hinge, label, and clearance issue that trainees inevitably forget on test day.

Why does this matter? Because training on a perfect digital replica of the actual bus eliminates guesswork.

It means:

• Better pre-trip inspections

• More accurate learning on phones and tablets

• Simulators that match real-world dimensions

• Fewer “but it looked different on the bus” moments

It also means agencies now have a future-proof digital asset they can reuse, update, and expand — without needing a bus parked outside 24/7.

We Made Training Less Stressful & More Insightful = More Effective

Pre-trip inspections are one of the most failed parts of CDL testing — and one of the most intimidating for new drivers. Similarly, for driving tests. One of our clients informed us that they have failures pulling out of the training yard - so we rebuilt that intersection to allow users to practice till perfect. Another client wanted instant feedback, so we added the ability to do a special closed course with real-time feedback ranging from distance to objects, to scoring systems on driver ability to complete objectives.

In 2025, we continued refining our experiences, pairing them with VIC, our AI helper companion bot who:

• Answers questions about the vehicle/pre-trip/procedures

• Provides hints to what you need to know for your test

• Permits extended learning beyond the basics to build confidence

• Supports multiple languages

• Helps trainees practice at their own pace

The result?

• Trainees show up more confident

• Instructors spend less time repeating basics

• Instructors can oversee more trainees in the same time

• Agencies see better outcomes without extending training timelines.

We Simulated Pedestrian & Vehicle Chaos (On Purpose)

With Seattle preparing to host the FIFA World Cup, we asked a simple question to help train drivers on mass population and mass vehicles - something they've never had to even consider before:

How many pedestrians can we realistically add to a training scenario before things get… interesting?

Turns out: a lot!

This year we began testing high-density pedestrian environments in our simulators and VR experiences. Not just crowds standing around, but crowds that:

• Move in unpredictable groups

• Ignore signals

• Get distracted

• Use Crosswalks most of the time!

• Travel in waves after major events

These special-event training modules help operators practice patience, speed control, hazard anticipation, and situational awareness under conditions that traditional training simply can’t replicate.

Better to experience it virtually than for the first time during a real World Cup match!

We found that around 1,000 simulated pedestrians, each with their own virtual brain, did a nice job of emulating real world cognitive load. We'll be rolling this experience with our local agencies, and will report back on findings, updates, and learnings.

We Built Training That Works for Big and Small Agencies

While our competitors focus only on the top 1% of transit agencies, we wanted to create solutions for every agency, irrespective of size. From large metro systems to smaller rural agencies, 2025 reinforced an important truth:

One-size-fits-all training doesn’t actually fit anyone very well, and we can solve for this.

Consequently, this year we supported:

• Modular simulator installs that can be upgraded at any time

• Task-specific training stations

• Portable setups for recruitment and outreach

• Custom scenarios based on real routes and challenges

Agencies used these tools to focus training time where it mattered most; reversing, tight turns, problem routes, freeway driving, location specific roundabouts... all without burning fuel, vehicles, or instructor bandwidth.

We Learned That Better Training Helps More Than Just New Drivers

While much of our work focuses on new operators, 2025 showed us how valuable immersive training can be for:

• Refresher training

• Incident review

• Continuing education

• Confidence-building after time away

Simulators became not just a training tool, but a safe place to practice, make mistakes, and improve ... without the risk to people, vehicles, or equipment.

Looking Ahead

If 2025 was about pushing boundaries, 2026 will be about scaling what works.

1. More digital twins - replicating entire fleets and multiple vehicles/brands/years and making them drivable in our experiences.

2. More scenario depth - recreating training events based on real world situations and scenarios.

3. More users - we just rolled out our first training expeirence that allows multiple-users in the same experience, so you can be a pedestrian, bus driver, car drivers, etc. We'll expand more on this in 2026 for sure.

4. More accessibility - want to teach how to interact with securing riders in wheelchairs - we have you covered.

5. More data - driven training insights from distances to hazards to core skills assessments.

6. And yes — probably more pedestrians and simulated vehicles!

   
   

Thanks to the agencies, instructors, and drivers who helped shape everything we built this year.

The future of driver training is immersive, flexible, and a whole lot smarter, and we’re excited to keep building it together.