Taiwan is getting its first commercial shuttle service operated by a driverless bus. It''ll be in Hsinchu, taking passengers from Zhubei City to the local high-speed rail station, first for free, then for a fee. The shuttle, which was developed by the Industrial Technology Research Institute, rolled out for riderless pilot testing on Monday. It''s Taiwan''s first automated vehicle to be tested in a complex traffic environment.
There’s a person in the driver’s seat, but he’s not lifting a finger. The wheel moves all on its own as the bus moves forward, turns left, and turns right, running smooth even while negotiating light traffic. When meeting a pedestrian at a crosswalk or a turning car, the bus comes to a stop automatically. It can even overtake slower vehicles.
The driverless vehicle, which was developed by ITRI, rolled out last September for a small-scale test at Hsinchu’s Nanliao Harbor. On Monday morning, officials launched another round of tests in a ceremony at county hall. The driverless vehicle is now Taiwan’s first to be tested on mixed-use urban roads.
Chiou Chyou-huey
Department of Industrial Technology
Road sensors are used to detect lateral traffic flow, to prevent danger that could arise from blind spots in the driverless car, or the inability to see all moving traffic.
Chang Pei-zen
ITRI executive vice president
Taiwan has a lot of scooters. This is very rare in developed countries. The artificial intelligence models that we develop in Taiwan will have a considerable advantage in countries with more complex traffic, particularly Southeast Asian countries, countries that have more scooters on the streets.
ITRI’s driverless bus is equipped with smart anti-collision technology. It’s connected to smart bus shelters, so that bus frequency can be adjusted based on real-time passenger data. It’s also Taiwan’s first to be tested in a complex traffic environment. Previously, driverless vehicles have only been tested on suburban streets, or downtown in dedicated bus lanes. This latest test will put the bus to work on urban roads used by scooters and cars. The test will finetune the vehicle’s ability to process pedestrian, vehicle, and street data that more accurately reflects Taiwan’s complex traffic.
Yang Wen-ke
Hsinchu County commissioner
In the first stage, the bus will simply be tested and put through its paces. In the second stage, it will be open to passengers, who can ride for free. Then in the third stage, we want to incorporate the shuttle into Zhubei’s intercity bus system.
If the bus passes its driving test on Hsinchu’s busy streets, it will become Taiwan’s first commercial shuttle bus, marking a milestone in the integration of smart transport into commercial public transport.
