New route with autonomous shuttles launched in Drive Sweden project

The project, S3, Shared Shuttle Services, is a part of the Government’s innovation partnership program, “The next generation’s travel and transport,” and is funded in part by Vinnova through Drive Sweden. and the KRABAT project.

The test that is now starting is the third phase of the S3 project. The previous phases were carried out at Chalmers in Johanneberg and at Lindholmen Science Park in Gothenburg and the third part of the project will also take place at Lindholmen. The new route runs between the Hugo Hammars Kaj car park and Regnbågsgatan, which is a hub for public transport. The route is numbered 56.

One of the new features in this phase is that it will now be possible to see departure times in the Västtrafik To Go and Parkering Göteborg apps. The electric buses will run during the day on weekdays and the trips are free of charge.

Increases knowledge about autonomous vehicles

"The autonomous buses give us the opportunity to follow the development of innovations and learn how they can benefit our customers. The new route, 56, means that our travelers in the area get closer to their workplaces and homes, which makes our public transport even more attractive", says Lars Backström, CEO of Västtrafik.

"The development of autonomous public transport can be an important key for creating sustainable urban areas and a vibrant countryside. Concrete experiments such as this contribute to the development of both knowledge and market", says Birger Löfgren, focus area leader for service development at RISE, who leads the project.

"Autonomous vehicles as a complement to ordinary public transport is a step towards future travel. For Keolis, it is strategically valuable to be part of this development", says Keolis CEO Jan Kilström.

FACTS ABOUT THE BUSES
• Two minibuses run Hugo Hammars Kaj, Anders Carlsson's street to Regnbågsgatan round trip between 07-18 on weekdays.
• The bus model is called Arma and built by the French company Navya.
• 11 seated passengers, including safety drivers. Due to corona, however, the number of travelers is temporarily limited.
• A minibus weighs 2,400 kg, is 4.75 m long, 2.65 m high and is 2.11 m wide
• Maximum speed is 20 km / h.
• The buses are electrically powered and the range is about 100 km or 8 hours drive. FACTS ABOUT S3
The S3 project, Shared Shuttle Services, aims to test how new, shared mobility solutions can contribute to sustainable urban development. Partners are RISE, Keolis, Chalmers, Göteborgs Stads Parkering AB, Ericsson, Västtrafik, Johanneberg Science Park and Härryda Municipality.
Read more about S3 here