The Singapore Road Traffic Authority (LTA) has announced plans to deploy the first 16 self-done buses on bus routes 400 and 191, serving the Marina Bay and Shenton Way areas in the city's commercial area.
Initially, a driver will participate as a safe operator. However, after 6 months of testing, a transition to remote monitoring was planned.
LTA will deploy these buses for 3 years, to assess their usefulness, as well as the technical and operational feasibility of this project before expanding to other areas.
This initiative is part of Singapore's strategy to promote innovative and sustainable transportation solutions, especially to cope with labor shortages in the transportation sector.
Other similar projects have been implemented in Singapore, such as self-driving minibuses at sentosa Island resort. This car can travel a full 1.2 km route in about 12 minutes, stopping a total of 4 times.
For safety reasons, this small bus still has a driver, but the bus is mainly automatic.
The Singaporean government and local companies are working closely together to develop autonomous vehicles. Their goal is to integrate these new technologies into the city's public transportation system in the coming years.
According to LTA, expanding autonomous vehicle (AV) technology will bring many benefits. AV improves mobility by providing safe and efficient means of transportation, helping to improve flexibility and range of activities by adjusting routes and schedules according to real-time travel needs.
Singapore is facing a narrow labor market due to an aging population. AV can reduce human resource limitations by taking on daily and repetitive work, and operating at any time of the day without being restricted by human fatigue.
In particular, AV is equipped with high-authenticity sensors, allowing them to recognize the surrounding environment and navigate safely through complex, mixed traffic conditions while still complying with road and road rules.
By maintaining consistent attention and complying with traffic regulations, AV can contribute to creating safer roads for everyone.
