The Navya Arma, an electric, driverless shuttlebus designed and produced by French company Navya and bought by Western Australia’s Royal Automobile Club (RAC) will be tested on Perth roads later this year if all things go to plan, after an initial trial run away from the public at the RAC driving centre.
RAC is working with the Government and the Department of Transport to work out how the bus will be introduced and trialled in public.
“It is not a matter of if this technology will come to Western Australia, but when it will and that time is fast approaching. Initially, the trials will be conducted at RAC’s driving centre, but eventually the shuttle will take to Perth roads. We see this as a start, if you look at what Google and others are now talking about worldwide, they believe from a safety perspective that driverless vehicles will dramatically reduce accident rates on our roads,” explained Dean Nalder, Western Australia’s Transport Minister.
However, numerous issues and legislation must be sorted out first, including:
Liability for accidents
Max travel speeds
Operating routes - passenger pickup/drop-off route plans
April, 2016
A driverless, Volvo XC90 automated car was unleashed on Adelaide’s Southern Expressway over 2 days during a trial in November last year.
According to Kevin McCann, the managing director of Volvo Cars Australia, the technology is ready to go, “it’s [only] a matter of when the framework and legislation allows and when we’re ready to bring the cars to market”, Kevin McCann, managing director of Volvo Cars Australia
To find out more about the automated shuttlebus scheduled for public trials in Perth stay tuned for our associated blog: Navya, the Firm behind the Electric, Automated Perth Shuttlebus (coming soon)