A self-propelled elevator system includes a hoistway (11) including a plurality of drives (40), wherein each of the plurality of drives includes a stationary portion (16) of a propulsion system and a controller (30) configured to operate the stationary portion of the propulsion system. The propelled elevator system also includes an elevator car ((14), 42) comprising a processor (44) and a transceiver (48), wherein the transceiver is configured to communicate with the controllers of one or more of the plurality of drives that are adjacent to the elevator car and one or more sensors (46) disposed on the elevator car, wherein the processor is configured to receive signals from the one or more sensors. The processor is configured to control a movement of the elevator car within the hoistway.