SINGAPORE: On Monday (Jan 27), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced a pilot deployment of autonomous public bus services by the middle of next year, starting with Service 400 at Marina Bay/Shenton Way and Service 191 at one-north.
“Through this pilot, LTA aims to assess the technical feasibility of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology for public bus services and gain insights into the operational aspects of running autonomous buses at both service and fleet levels,” the authority said.
The trial will begin with smaller buses with at least 16 seats at Service 400 and Service 191, which were chosen as their routes are shorter and simpler. LTA noted that the route at one-north has been part of a test-bed for self-driving vehicles, which has been ongoing since 2019.
At the initial phase of the pilot, bus captains will still be deployed on the vehicles, where they will be acting as safety operators. The vehicles also need to meet operating requirements, which include safe pick-ups and drop-offs at all designated stops. The tenderer selected for the trial will operate for at least six months to show how reliable autonomous buses’ self-driving and remote operations capabilities are. After this period, a remote safety operator may take over the supervisory role.
The LTA will continue to monitor the self-driving buses in real-time so it can evaluate self-driving performance and compliance with regulations. Additional safeguards include requiring passengers to sit down and wear their seatbelts, and there may also be a customer service officer on the buses to help passengers who may need it.
Six self-driving buses will be procured by the LTA at the beginning, and they will operate alongside existing buses. They will be deployed from mid-2026 for three years initially. However, depending on the performance of these vehicles, the LTA may consider purchasing as many as 14 additional self-driving buses, which means the pilot deployment could be expanded to two other public bus services.
“This phased approach allows for a thorough assessment of the feasibility and reliability of AV technology while ensuring public safety,” LTA added.
The LTA, which launched a request for proposals for autonomous vehicles for public bus services, added that these proposals need to include proposed bus models, fleet management and remote operations systems, electric charging infrastructure, hardware and software needed for AV operations, and associated maintenance and support service.
LTA’s request for proposals is expected to end by the second quarter of this year, and the contract should be rewarded by the end of 2025.
Featured image: Freepik (for illustration purposes only) /TISG
Read also: FairPrice Group to launch first test of self-driving electric truck in Singapore