A new pilot project for autonomous driving in public transport is starting in Furttal, Switzerland. The project brings together several strong partners (SBB, Canton of Zurich, Swiss Transit Lab and ioki) – how important do you think this type of partnership is for innovations in public transport?
Partnerships are key. No party could implement the project at this speed and with this quality alone. If we are faced with a problem, we can be sure that someone has a solution. And as is usual with innovation projects, there are plenty of questions and problems.
SBB is contributing its mobility knowledge, the Canton of Zurich is bridging the gap to regulation and the offices involved, and the Swiss Transit Lab is contributing know-how and findings from two automated pilot projects. To stay fast, we have to maintain a lean organisation and involve the right partners. We therefore only work with the best in the market. ioki brings its experience from the numerous on-demand projects, WeRide has already driven millions of kilometres automatically and Eurobus, our partner for operations, runs a regular bus operation. It is only through these different perspectives and high maturity of the partners that we can develop the necessary foundations for potential scaling.
What makes the Furttal particularly interesting for testing autonomous on-demand mobility?
The Furttal near Zurich combines rural settlement structures with those of a classic agglomeration. While most automated services are tested in urban areas, we see the greatest potential for automated mobility services in rural regions. There they can close existing service gaps and offer an attractive alternative to owning a car. Especially for people without their own vehicle, older people or people with mobility impairments, better connectivity can be ensured.
What role do you see for autonomous on-demand mobility in the future of rural transport, especially in Switzerland?
At the moment, we prefer to talk about “flexible” mobility. The automated services will significantly transform local transport. Lower operating costs and dynamic operating models help to better align supply with demand. The pilot project in Furttal gives us initial indications of what this could look like. Demand-responsive services play a role in this. However, our initial projections show that regular bus services will also continue to be important in rural areas in the future. The transition between the forms of service will likely be seamless – as well as between private and public transport.
Discover more here https://www.swisstransitlab.ch/de/projekte/furttal/
More about autonomous mobility in Europe can be found here.
