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Three years ago the technology was not yet fully developed, but now De Lijn is once again pulling plans for self-driving buses in cities out of the fridge. The Flemish public transport company has taken the first steps for a pilot project in Leuven, with the aim of establishing an operational connection in 2026.
SEE. In 2019, this prototype of a self-driving bus was presented at Brussels Airport
De Lijn has launched a call for candidates to develop the pilot project. The call states that the route of the self-driving buses has not yet been determined. However, “the autonomous vehicles must also drive on public roads in complex traffic environments in full interaction with other road users.” There are also fifteen to twenty vehicles in the first phase, with a possible expansion to eighty vehicles.
The selected candidates can submit offers at a later date. According to the preliminary schedule, the contract should be awarded to a manufacturer in the second half of 2024. Tests would be carried out throughout 2025 and a passenger connection would actually launch in the second quarter of 2026. Conditionally, because a lot depends on further technological developments and also on the price.
In the longer term, autonomous transport will make it possible to offer efficient and attractive public transport to many more Flemings
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De Lijn assumes that autonomous transport with self-driving vehicles will grow and become more important in the near future, including for public transport. “We are currently noticing that the development and implementation of this technology is gaining momentum worldwide,” said the transport company. She assumes that “in the longer term, autonomous transport will make it possible to offer efficient and attractive public transport to many more Flemings”.
The pilot project is running in collaboration with the city of Leuven. “Together we will investigate how an autonomous, urban shuttle connection can be implemented in Leuven.”
Flemish Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) thinks it is “a good thing that De Lijn and the city of Leuven are taking these steps,” she reports in a response. “We must embrace technological advancement and innovation. Autonomous transport offers our society opportunities. Not just in terms of ride quality and road safety, but also as a new industry that we need to focus on,” he added. “We also need to ensure that we are ready in terms of regulation and infrastructure for autonomous driving in the future.”
Prototype at Brussels Airport
This is not the first time that De Lijn has explored the possibilities of self-driving buses. A few years ago there was a feasibility study on self-driving buses in cities (with the twin cities of Genk, Leuven, Antwerp and Mechelen), but at the end of 2020 it was decided not to proceed with it as the technology was not sufficiently developed at the time. There were also plans for a self-driving bus at Brussels Airport. A prototype of such a self-driving bus was proposed in 2019, but that project was also ultimately canceled.
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