by Barcelona, Spain (AP) – commuters in the city center of Barcelona were able to take the bus free of charge this week. There is only one catch: this mini bus has no one at the wheel.
The bus runs alone from the stop with its passengers, brakes before changing the lanes and relaxes one of the most fashionable boulevards in Barcelona.
Renault will test a new driverless mini bus in Barcelona this week. The autonomous vehicle runs on a circular route of 2.2 km with four stops in the center of the Spanish city. Adventure commuters can rise free of charge.
The French car manufacturer has teamed up with Weride, a company specializing in autonomous vehicles to create the prototype. It presented the driverless bus at the French Open event location last year, but now he is testing it on the open street in Barcelona. There are also test projects in Valenz, France and at Zurich Airport.
Pau Cugat was one of the curious to step on board a short drive along the Passeig de Gracia Boulevard.
“We just drove past with a regular, burning city bus, and I thought:” Look, there is a bus in the past, and right behind you have the bus of the future, “said the 18-year-old student.
Driving taxis and buses are tried out by companies in other cities from San Francisco to Tokyo.
The Renault initiative occurs, however, since Europe generally lies behind the United States and China in the driverless vehicle technology, where companies compete hard for the arrival of the vehicle.
“The USA experiment a lot with autonomous vehicles, the same in China,” Patrick Vergelas, head of Renault’s autonomous mobility projects, told Associated Press. “So far we haven’t had much in Europe. And that’s why we want to show that this works and that Europe is preparing for this path in public transport. “
The electric bus can drive 120 kilometers without charging and reach 40 kilometers per hour (25 miles per hour). It is equipped with 10 cameras and eight lidars (sensor arrays) to navigate through the streets with cars, motorcycles and pedestrians. The company says that the bus can drive safely on a certain course through a busy city center like that of lively Barcelona.
Carlos Santos from Renault’s autonomous driving group said he saw all types of reactions from drivers.
“We have seen many people’s behaviors. Some of them smiled (during) other people just start crying, taking pictures or trying to open the doors, ”said Santos before insisting that the bus ride was safe.
Barcelona’s city officials said that they had no reports about accidents caused by the test bus.
