Self-driving bus hits the streets of Neuhausen

Beginning Tuesday, the self-driving bus Trapizio will run daily through the centre of Neuhausen am Rheinfall. It seats 11 people, and passengers can ride free of charge as part of a pilot project.

“Everyone can come and board the bus,” Christoph Wahrenberger of the Schaffhausen public transport company (VBSH), the bus’ operator, told the St.Galler Tagblatt newspaper.

Trapizio is being integrated into regular transport services as part of the project.

“It is the first time in the world that a self-driving vehicle is being fully integrated into an operational control system for regular services – and thus also the first time a self-driving vehicle is integrated into public transport,” said Matthias Stahel from Trapeze Switzerland.

Trapeze’s European headquarters are in Schaffhausen, where it is researching how to integrate self-driving vehicles into public transport. The company also formed the startup AmoTech in Neuhausen, which assists transport companies in their projects on self-driving vehicles. AmoTech is now also involved in the current project with the Schaffhausen public transport company.

Self-driving buses are currently being tested near Fribourg and in Sion, but the vehicles there have separate bus stops. Trapizio, in contrast, uses the same stops as all the other buses. “We’re excited to see how passenger boarding and alighting will work,” said Wahrenberger.

An attendant will always be in the bus during the pilot project to keep an eye on traffic while the bus is driving and trigger a manual emergency stop if necessary. They can also take over the wheel if the programmed lane is blocked.

“It’s not yet possible to predict when we’ll be able to do without the attendant,” explained Stahel, as legal and technical obstacles first need to be overcome.

The Institute of Science, Technology and Policy (ISTP) at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich is providing scientific support for the project, which includes conducting research on public acceptance of self-driving buses in Switzerland as well as their impact on jobs.