One of the upsides in a world where we all sit in self-driving vehicles is that accidents between vehicles will theoretically be minimal, and that everyone should arrive on time. This is particularly important especially with public transport, and this is something that Singapore is hoping to build on.
According to an announcement by the Nanyang Technical University, Singapore, it seems that they will be looking to test Volvo’s full-sized self-driving buses. This bus is based on the Volvo 7900 electric vehicle that is capable of carrying up to 80 passengers at time. This won’t be the only self-driving Volvo bus being tested as another will be trialed at a bus depot managed by Singapore’s public transport operator.
This is actually not the first time that Singapore and various institutions in the country have tested out autonomous vehicles. Several years ago self-driving shuttle buses were being tested, but it seems that those tests have now moved onto larger full-sized buses. The country also announced their plans to expand on their self-driving bus service in 2022.
The country is known for not having a lot of land space and so private transportation, such as owning a car, can be expensive. The country has since built up a pretty extensive and reliable public transport service which we imagine should get a lot better with autonomous vehicles tossed into the mix.