VIDEO: Driverless buses to revolutionise mass transport in Europe

The city of Trikala, in central Greece, is the first in Europe to host a driverless bus in the city centre.

It is part of CityMobil2, an EU funded pilot project to revolutionise mass transport and wean Europe’s cities off oil dependency over the next 30 years.

The idea is not to replace ordinary buses but to offer a mixed transport service.

Project manager of CityMobil2, Carlos Holguin, said, “We have accidents, we have traffic jams, we have pollution, and this can be solved by public transport. Unfortunately, public transport with drivers cannot solve everything and the missing piece to solve all these problems are automated vehicles.”

The buses, which are built by French manufacturer Robosoft, are 5 meters long and 1.5 meters wide and can carry up to 10 people. They travel at a speed of about 20 km per hour and run along a 2.4 km route.

#Trikala of #Greece is the first among five European cities to introduce the #Driverless #Bus. #Ecology #Europe pic.twitter.com/kzjnTHtqFq

— Mouzenidis Group (@MouzenidisGroup) October 27, 2015

The vehicles are equipped with an advanced GPS and a laser mapping system for localization and movement control. Laser and ultrasound technologies are used to detect obstacles.

Each bus is powered by twelve batteries, which need around two hours to charge.

“It runs on an electric motor. The position is provided by laser-guided GPS. We have mapped the city and the bus follows the planned route centimeter by centimeter. If it meets an obstacle along the way, it is equipped with a laser security system that makes it either slow down or stop,” said the head technician on the project, Vasilis Karavidas.

Local authorities have launched a public awareness campaign to inform prospective passengers and motorists about the bus, even though some chose to ignore the directives and use the specially equipped bus lane anyway.

In the control room, everything is recorded. In the event of a problem, traffic police are called in or an authorised driver is sent to move the bus.

While Trikala has a long-running cycling tradition, the driverless bus pilot project met with some opposition with some argued it took up precious car parking spaces, but the town’s mayor, Dimitris Papastergiou, defends his choice.

A driverless X15 bus will be along shortly. You are reminded that hoverboards are not allowed on this service.

— Prestonpans Bus Stop - East Lothian (@PPansBusShelter) October 21, 2015

“Our citizens didn’t accept it immediately, they felt uneasy, and I understand that. It caused disruption, we had to install fiber optic lines and dig the streets again. But they’re gradually changing their mind, because they can see that Trikala is making headlines for good reasons,” Mr Papastergiou said.

The buses will leave Trikala at the end of February and the bus lane will be turned into a bike lane. The Spanish city of Leon is the next stop on the long road ahead to one day, perhaps, creating an efficient and clean public transport system in Europe.

H/T: Euronews