On March 10th Renault Group and partners WeRide launched the first autonomous bus trials in both Spain and France, with the aim of introducing a permanent commercial service in France in July of this year.
The ‘Robobuses’ are Level 4 autonomous, meaning there will be no driver on board and the vehicle can handle all driving tasks within a predetermined area.
Renault nailed their colours to the mast of autonomous transportation last year, when they declared that their research in this area would focus on public transport rather than private cars, for which they believe there will be little demand beyond level 2 automation.
The 6m long Robuses in Barceleona and Valence operate on open roads in mixed traffic, carrying up to eight passengers.
The Barcelona trial involved two buses which operated on a 2.2km circuit in the heart of the city.
The 3.3km route in Valence serves a business park, the nearby the train station and its long-term parking area. The route opens up a potential 3,000 customers for the buses.
WeRide have more than 700 autonomous vehicles in service (including 300 miniBuses) that have travelled more than 28m km in Asia, the Middle East, and North America and with this new partnership, they will be adding Europe to that map.
The Robobuses will be operated by beti Automated Mobility, whose ‘hypervision’ will provide a level of safety. The ‘hypervisors’ monitoring the buses are not in a position to take control of them, but can react to alerts and stop the vehicle if necessary.
Jennifer Li, CFO and Head of International Business at WeRide said: ‘Our collaboration with beti allows us to execute our inaugural commercial Robobus deployment in Europe, utilizing our proven track record in the Chinese, Singaporean, and Middle Eastern markets, and ultimately reinforcing our position as a global leader in L4 autonomous driving deployment and commercialization.’
Patrick Vergelas, Head of Autonomous Mobility Projects, Renault Group said: ‘Renault Group continues to move forward in order to implement its strategy to propose, well before the end of this decade, a relevant, low-carbon, efficient offer of automated minibuses, to meet the growing needs of territories.’