Vienna trains operators for driverless buses

Starting in autumn 2018, Viennese public transport operator “Wiener Linien” will start its first on-road tests of driverless buses in the city development area of “Seestadt Aspern”. By spring 2019, if the tests go well, driverless buses will be used to provide a regular service to passengers.

Currently, tests are being undertaken at the company's own test sites away from public roads. It is not only the buses that need to ready for future services in real traffic conditions: each bus will have an operator on board all the time and they also need training. These operators will need to adapt to a new environment and to new tasks. Self-driving buses do not have familiar elements, such as steering wheels or brakes, so the task of the operator will be to react to the way in which the bus is driving itself. The steering wheel for example has been replaced by a joystick, similar to those found on games consoles. This is used to steer the bus around any barriers, if needed. The reason for this is evident, since the sensors of the bus can still be adversely affected by heavy rain or snow. The bus will be programmed to follow a given route and to come to a halt at designated stops only. The presence of an operator on board is needed to avoid any problems that occur, including from sensor errors.

Passengers will be able to enter the self-drive bus – for free – but only under limited circumstances: it will only be able to have a maximum of 10 passengers at any one time and they will all need to be seated. This means that, at least for the moment, such buses would not be able to be used by passengers with special needs, such as those with wheel chairs or pushchairs. The bus will also be limited to driving at a maximum speed of only 11 km/h, well below what is possible. This will ensure that the bus will easily be able to stop for pedestrians and other obstacles.

Once the tests have been successfully concluded, the driverless bus will connect the terminal stop of metro line 2 to the neighbouring residential areas.