Electric buses steered by invisible hands
A small fleet of driverless shuttle buses gets put to the test in Lausanne – giving us a glimpse of the public transport of the future. (SRF Tagesschau/swissinfo.ch)
On the campus of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), a small fleet of automated electric buses has been tested under real conditions. The shuttle buses roll all by themselves from stop to stop, as if steered by invisible hands.
This initiative is part of the City Alternative Transport System (CATS) project. In July 2014, EPFL hosted the public experimental phase of the driverless shuttle buses. Launched in January 2010 for a period of five years, the project is co-financed by the European Commission with €3 million (CHF3.6 million). Town planning office GEA Vallotton et Chanard in Lausanne coordinated the project – bringing together scientific and institutional partners, including the EPFL.
A Swiss start-up company, BestMile, developed the software that helps the buses operate. Founded in January 2014 by three EPFL alumni, BestMile creates solutions and services for urban mobility.
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