In the future, we expect self-driving vehicles to enable new and cost-efficient services for demand response traffic. Small autonomous vehicles are to develop first- and last-mile service offerings. This can allow routes to be operated that, to date, have not been serviced or have been unprofitable. The aim is to coordinate all the available forms of mobility and fine-tune the different systems.
In this effort, the Intermodal Transport Control System (ITCS) stands to become the core piece of intelligence behind future mobility and the future of public transport. That’s why the European headquarters of Trapeze (a center of autonomous mobility competence) has recently set up a Public Transport Lab at the Rhine Falls – to develop and test under real-life conditions new technologies and services related to autonomous mobility.
The biggest trend for 2018 transit in Central Europe will be the further development of autonomous mobility technology – which has already started.
The First Project
The first step was integrating an electrically-powered autonomous bus in a public transport network. The next phases of the project are:
Phase 1
Bus performs test trips on private premises of the SIG company
Phase 2
Autonomous bus supplements the network of the public transport authority of Schaffhausen, VBSH
Phase 3
Bus is integrated into the regular urban transport network
Phase 4
First-/last-mile concept with robo-taxis
Here’s what the experts have to say about this 2018 transit trend.
2018 Will Bring Seamless Integration for Autonomous Vehicles into Public Transport
“Within the mobility lab, we are working on innovations to cater for tomorrow’s needs in the autonomous mobility field.”
Bruno Schwager, Director VBSH, Schaffhausen
“We are striving for the seamless integration of the entire transportation chain in private and public transport. Our goal is an everyday solution for autonomous mobility.”
Peter Schneck, Chief Executive Officer, Trapeze Group
"It is quite conceivable that at some point such a self-driving bus drives through the city of Zurich."
Guido Schoch, VBZ-Direktor, Zürich
"Wherever bus routes are unprofitable, this self-driving mini-bus could, in the future, complement and expand the public transport service."
Raoul Schmidt-Lamontain, Traffic Mayor
Where to Go from Here
Want to join us on the journey of autonomous mobility? Then stay tuned to our blog here.
Disclaimer: Please note that the quotes in this blog post only reflect the contributor’s views and opinions. Quotes do not necessarily reflect the blog author’s nor Trapeze’s views and opinions.
Matthias Stahel is the Director of Corporate and Marketing Communications for Trapeze Switzerland GmbH. He's responsible for the strategic and operative tasks for ITS, control center applications, passenger information, ticketing, and EAM. He has worked for different B2B companies and many years of experiences in communications consulting companies. He studied Economics at the Swiss University of St.Gallen, has a Master in Public Relations at Swiss PR Institute, as well as a MAS in Corporate Communications at the University of North-Western Switzerland.