Future Now
The IFTF Blog
Self-driving buses in London?
"London's Royal College of Art has developed a proposal for a self-driving bus system. The Personalised Public Transport (PPT) concept is a collaboration with Michelin, the Centre for Automotive Industry Research, and Capoco Design. Apparently, the group hopes to produce two prototype buses by 2007 with a trial the following year. From The Times:
(Project leader Alan Ponsford) accepted that the system would be expensive to install but said that the operating costs would be far smaller than for existing buses because paying drivers represents 60 per cent of the cost of running a bus. Fares on driverless buses would be similar to existing bus fares. They would follow magnetic markers in the road and would avoid other vehicles and pedestrians by using obstacle detection and collision avoidance systems. The electrically propelled vehicles would operate at a maximum of 25mph on residential streets but accelerate to 45mph on special lanes along major roads.