Image credit – Singapore Land Transport Authority
Self-driving cars, buses, and other modes of transportation is expected to be the way of the future, and over in Singapore, the country has already begun testing out various services, such as driverless shuttles, self-driving taxis, and also autonomous bus services. For the most part these are running as trials, but Singapore expects to expand those services in the near future.
The country’s Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan has announced that in 2022, they will be expanding their self-driving bus service to cover three additional neighborhoods. Note that this is still part of a test and the buses will be used during off-peak periods, which makes sense since we’re sure that commuters going to work and coming home wouldn’t want to be late due to technical glitches.
According to Khaw, “We expect that the AVs will greatly enhance the accessibility and connectivity of our public transport system, particularly for the old, families with the young, and the less mobile. More importantly, we can gain further insights into how we can develop new towns or refurbish existing ones for the safe mass deployment of AVs.”
Note that the Singapore government has recently announced that they will stop adding new cars to their roads starting next year, with that rule applying to buses in 2021, so hopefully with the addition of self-driving buses, their efficiency will help reduce the need for additional cars or buses on the road in the future.
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