Driverless Bus Hits the Roads of the Netherlands

An electric, driverless bus has driven on public roads in the Netherlands for the first time. In this trial, which is the first of its kind in the world, six passengers traveled a distance of two hundred meters in a driverless bus on a public road. While driverless buses and trains are operational worldwide, they all operate on special lines or dedicated tracks and none travel on public roads. The technical director of this project, Jan Willem van der Wiel, told The Guardian that although this bus has not set any speed records, it represents a new milestone for driverless vehicle technology, as no public transport vehicle without a driver has been tested on public roads shared with other vehicles. The bus, which traveled a route around a lake in one of the cities in the Netherlands, had a speed of only eight kilometers per hour. According to The Telegraph, at this stage of the trial, the bus will not be tested at night, on busy routes, during peak traffic hours, or in adverse winter weather conditions. The goal is for this bus to eventually operate safely on public roads at a speed of 25 kilometers per hour. Technology companies like Google and automakers like Tesla and Nissan are testing advanced models of driverless vehicles worldwide, but this bus is the first of its kind to be tested in public transportation. The project is expected to expand in the coming months and ultimately be tested on a six-kilometer route on a public road. Additionally, this spring, test models of driverless delivery vans are set to be tested on the route to the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The aim of this project is to facilitate the transportation of goods from ports to freight trains using these driverless vans. These projects are being carried out in collaboration with Delft University.