Buses World News

In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry

4.4.17

NAVYA' DRIVERLESS BUSES * France - Tested in Japan

* Lyon - NAVYA plans to test self-driving bus in Japan

--- The French electric vehicle startup, Navya, is aiming to bring its driverless bus to sites such as shopping centers, airports and university campuses in Japan, with the intention of delivering low-speed shuttle services that would run along fixed routes... In 2015, Navya completed manufacturing of its driverless bus, which can travel at a maximum speed of 45 kilometers per hour and carry up to 15 passengers. Currently, there are 30 Navya self-driving buses operating in a total of 7 countries, including France, the U.S. and Switzerland. With regard to the Japanese market, a SoftBank subsidiary has bought two buses from Navya, and plans to test them out in Japan this spring... In the case of Navya, once the fixed route has been mastered by an operator during a test run, the driverless bus will then remember the exact route. In the event that an unexpected object does suddenly obstruct the route of the bus, the vehicle will pick up on this using its sensors, and an automatic brake will be applied... With relatively low development costs, Navya plans to offer its self-driving bus service at a total cost of about 40,000 euros per year (approximately 4.8 million yen). The company is expecting global demand for tens of thousands of its self-driving buses... In Japan, one company making considerable progress in the field of driverless vehicles is DeNA Co. In August 2016, the company tested out a driverless bus service in a park in Chiba -- together with the French venture company EasyMile -- transporting approximately 1,600 passengers. Looking ahead, DeNA aims to introduce a driverless bus service at Kyushu University's Ito campus in Fukuoka during the first half of fiscal 2018...
Lyon, France - Busworld.org (Belgium) - 17 MAR 2017

Labels: driverless buses

1.11.16

DRIVERLESS POD in * Australia

* Victoria - Autonomous vehicles without steering wheel

--- A driverless pod with no steering wheel manufactured in Coventry, England has arrived for a year long stint in Australia... The new autonomous pod was on show at the World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) held in Melbourne earlier this month, as part of a partnership between the Australian Driverless Vehicle Initiative (ADVI) and autonomous vehicle developer RDM Group... It is the first time RDM Group has exhibited outside of Europe and underlines its intention to expand into new territories, including the Asia-Pacific market where it is already in talks with Government and Universities on providing transport solutions... Delegates at the show explored the pod on the ADVI stand and spoke to technical experts about the technology used and its capabilities, which include a top speed of 15 mph off highway, an operational range of 60 miles and the fact it can be built in two, four, six and eight-seater variants...
(Photo: The driverless pod will be making its way to ADVI Capital City Forums around Australia over the next year) -- Melbourne, VIC, Australia - ABC - 20 Oct 2016

Labels: driverless buses, transport news Australia

16.2.16

DRIVERLESS BUSES * The Netherlands: Mixed with regular traffic

* Gelderland - An electric, driverless shuttle bus

(Video by Tech Tour - Jan 29, 2016: An electric, driverless shuttle bus has taken to Dutch public roads on Thursday, rolling six passengers along a 200m stretch of road in the first trial of its kind worldwide)

-- WePod shuttle carries handful of people on 200m journey in first trial of its kind – with hopes to extend systems to cargo trucks... An electric, driverless shuttle bus has taken to Dutch public roads on Thursday, rolling six passengers along a 200m stretch of road in the first trial of its kind worldwide... The WePod, one of a fleet to be rolled out in coming years, took a few people on a short journey back and forth along the side of a lake... In Gelderland, the WEpods will be mixing with regular traffic... The project will be expanded in coming months and will eventually be used as public transport along a 4-mile route in the town...
Wageningen, Holland - The Guardian (UK) - 28 Jan 2016

Labels: driverless buses