Singapore’s Ministry of Transportation plans to begin testing fully autonomous bus services from 2022 onwards. Three districts have already been identified for the pilot project; with the Singaporean government planning to develop towns with autonomous vehicle friendly features.
Punggol, Tengah and the Jurong Innovation District will be the first locations to see driverless buses, albeit only during off-peak hours. The Land Transport Authority is also planning to use driverless shuttles to bridge the gap between MRT lines.
At the same time, development of autonomous vehicles will continue in Singapore at the new Centre of Excellence for Testing and Research of AVs (CETRAN). Operated by the Nanyang Technological University, , the facility is designed to provide a “safe, controlled, and configurable testing environment” for testing. It’s designed to provide simulations of real world scenarios, like sudden crossings by pedestrians and a variety of weather conditions.
Some seven companies are expected to begin testing at CETRAN over the next six months. Giving Singapore a substantial head start with autonomous vehicle testing. Delphi has been running trials of driverless taxis in the One North area since August 2016. These taxis are not yet taking on passengers, although it is already well into its three year deployment plan.
[Source: Channel News Asia]
