Driverless bus hits the road in Singapore

SINGAPORE: Singapore has moved a step closer to a driverless public transport network with the launch of a new trial of self-driving buses. Orderly and high-tech, the Asian city-state has become a test bed for self-driving vehicles and has developed home-grown technology while inviting foreign companies to trial their own. In a three-month trial launched this week, passengers can book a bus ride through an app that takes them around Singapore’s Science Park, a high-tech business hub, during off-peak hours. The charge is just Sg$0.20 ($0.15). It is not the first self-driving bus trial in the city but is the first to charge a fee. Singapore’s first trial of self-driving buses came in 2015, while a trial of driverless road sweepers was launched earlier this year. Despite the technology on the buses, a driver is still at the wheel to take control if necessary and must drive the bus manually along part of the route. Khor Jing Qian, a 23-year-old student who took the bus said the journey, which took about 10 minutes, was “convenient and easy”. — AFP