Lahti is experimenting with the use of robotic buses in urban transport. Test runs will start at the end of May, and free rides will be offered in the summer.
Test drives of the robot bus will start in Lahti in late May. The city will test the use of the robot bus on a short route in the city centre for six months, but the test runs will determine when passengers will start to be picked up.
A slightly larger vehicle than a passenger car can carry six passengers. It can cruise at up to 20 kilometres per hour.
The bus runs autonomously, but still always has a safety driver to make sure that any problems are dealt with.
The city’s share of the costs is around 30,000 euros. Otherwise, the project is EU-funded, and the trips are free of charge for customers.
The route starts from Paavola, and stops along it include Trio, the city hospital, i.e. Lahti social services center, market and Ristinkirkko. The starting point and the route have been thought to be suitable especially for the elderly, but others can also use the robot bus.
Exact schedules will be announced later, when experience has been gained from the trial runs.
– We haven’t quite nailed these yet, but the goal at the moment is to run once an hour during the day, says Särkkäaho.
The Remoted company operates a robot bus in Lahti. The company also has them in traffic in Tampere.