Driverless buses in Berlin. Could this be more than just an elaborate German aim and an actual civilian reality in the times to come? Because where it stands at the moment, then it appears that one could soon see driverless buses in Berlin operating without any hassles whatsoever.
A case in point that proves the above is how successfully was the concept tested only days ago in the month of August in the celebrated German capital.
At the heart of these driverless buses in Berlin lies the swift paradigm change in urban mobility. No steering wheel, no driver and no charge!
According to leading news media outlet DW.com, driverless buses in Berlin shall be continuously tested until the end of 2019. And that said, the German capital has made headlines for being the latest among those cities that boast of autonomous or driverless vehicles on the road.
But make no mistake. The above development in no way suggests that Germany tested an autonomous vehicle for the very first time in the post-war period. It was back in 2017 when Germany’s first autonomous bus on a public road hit it up in the Bavarian town of Bad Birnbach, a touristic destination known for its lush green valleys and quaint charm.
That said, here’s another interesting development. One of the key districts in the port city of Hamburg also successfully tested a self-driving bus in the middle of August.
But more inputs on the driverless buses in Berlin suggests that at current capacity, these shall be six-seater buses that will be powered by electricity and shall have a rather interesting surprise for the passengers.
It appears that the passengers won’t have to part with a single cent to use the said services when they are fully commissioned and given a green signal for passenger usage.
In addition to the above, the head of Berlin Public Transport Operator BVG shared the following insights, underlining the importance of autonomous vehicles on the road in the times to come:
“We believe that self-driving small buses are a clever addition to our big yellow buses, for example in areas with narrow roads or strict speed limits.”
But an important facet of the driverless buses shall be the speed factor. There’s a tight lid on it to be maintained, as it’s believed. The most that a bus would be able to travel at would be no more than the speed of 15 kmph. That’s roughly 9 miles per hour.
Also, the distance covered by the autonomous distance would be a relatively smaller stretch- a 600-meter distance from the U6 metro line in the city to the Lake Tegel region. But the technical and geographical information told, it’s important to know who stands behind the development of these autonomous buses.
Interestingly, there’s no German firm behind these future pivots of high-tech urban transport. Apparently, noted French firm EasyMile has developed these autonomous buses. The success of the French firm can be gauged from the fact that it has already supplied autonomous vehicles to over 100 different cities of the world.