Swiss startup BestMile plans on bringing the world's first driverless buses to Switzerland in 2016, according to Fox News. The company's fleet of autonomous buses are designed for public transportation.
The first round of test runs will be the first ever done for self-driving buses, reported The Independent. The trials will take place in the French-speaking city Sion in the southwestern region of Switzerland, which is known for its resort towns and tourism.
BestMile partnered with bus controller PostBus, typically known as CarPostal to the Swiss French, to obtain its first commercial contract to develop autonomous public transportation, noted the Las Vegas Nevada Blog.
The startup was founded in January 2014 by two graduates from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). The company's goal is to develop algorithms for autonomous public transportation, noted Fox News. The test runs will have the driverless buses face traffic, pedestrians and other obstacles in a safe and efficient way.
Anne Koymans, co-founder of BestMile, said that the company's software will allow bus operators to remotely control, monitor and optimize the fleet of driverless buses.
"There is a lot of interest for driverless mobility solutions, partly thanks to Google," said Koymans. "Cities are interested, but also public transport operators, and the interest is increasing."
Koymans added that BestMile is interested in driverless public transportation. The company is also developing "the last mile" project named after the final leg of the passenger's public journey.
The driverless buses will transport up to nine passengers throughout Sion in the spring of 2016. The city will enjoy two years of testing autonomous buses powered by electricity.
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