Finland is testing driverless buses as part of a plan for Helsinki to go car free by 2025
- 8 years ago
HELSINKI — Finland is testing driverless electric buses as part of an ambitious 10-year plan to make car ownership unnecessary in the country’s capital.
Two driverless EZ10 minibuses with obstacle-detection technology are being tested on public roads in Helsinki’s southern Hernesaari district, alongside other vehicles and pedestrians.
The minibuses can hold up to 12 passengers each and can reach a top speed of 40 kilometers per hour. However they will travel at an average speed of 10 kilometers per hour, the Guardian reported.
Officials said the buses could be used in future to connect existing public transport systems, according to Finnish news site Yle.
Finland is a world leader in trials of automated transport, partly because Finnish law doesn’t require vehicles on the road to have a driver.
Helsinki is testing the buses as part of a plan to make car ownership unnecessary by 2025 by providing a point-to-point “mobility on demand” system, according to the Guardian.
The trial began on Aug. 16 and runs for a month.
Two driverless EZ10 minibuses with obstacle-detection technology are being tested on public roads in Helsinki’s southern Hernesaari district, alongside other vehicles and pedestrians.
The minibuses can hold up to 12 passengers each and can reach a top speed of 40 kilometers per hour. However they will travel at an average speed of 10 kilometers per hour, the Guardian reported.
Officials said the buses could be used in future to connect existing public transport systems, according to Finnish news site Yle.
Finland is a world leader in trials of automated transport, partly because Finnish law doesn’t require vehicles on the road to have a driver.
Helsinki is testing the buses as part of a plan to make car ownership unnecessary by 2025 by providing a point-to-point “mobility on demand” system, according to the Guardian.
The trial began on Aug. 16 and runs for a month.