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The electric cars are equipped with camera and sensor technology
Photo: DB / Mobileye
What does the future of local public transport look like?
Maybe like this: Fully automated shuttles drive without a driver and at normal speed in everyday traffic, ordered via app and sent to a suitable route as required.
In Darmstadt and in the Offenbach district, this is exactly what will be tested in a pilot operation from May, according to Deutsche Bahn.
Deutsche Bahn, the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) and the local transport companies are initially testing automated shuttles for two years.
The electric cars from the Chinese manufacturer Nio are equipped with camera and sensor technology from Mobileye, and the rail subsidiaries Ioki and Clevershuttle take care of the on-demand operation and software.
The first autonomous vehicle is to start in Darmstadt, and 14 more vehicles are to be added in the months after May.
Eight should therefore drive in the Offenbach district, seven in neighboring Darmstadt.
First without passengers on the way
In the first test phase, all shuttles should be on the road with specially trained drivers and without passengers.
Once this step has been successfully completed, test customers should be able to use the offer.
The vehicles will then be integrated into the existing on-demand offers in Darmstadt (»HeinerLiner«) and in the district of Offenbach (»kvgOF Hopper«) and be bookable for all interested parties.
An exact date for the start of public operation has not yet been given.
Even then, a security person should remain on board for the time being, even though the vehicle is already navigating completely independently after Level 4.
Deutsche Bahn announces the Hessian project as a "world premiere".
The car rental company Sixt is also testing the same technology for a robotic taxi service in Munich.
The supplier Mobileye did not want to name a date for commercial operation, originally announced for 2022.
The plans for using robotic taxis in Munich and other German cities are "on the right track," the company, which belongs to Intel, told SPIEGEL.
Various robotic taxi services are already in commercial operation in some US cities, but not as a supplement to buses and trains, as is planned in Hesse.
The flexibility is intended to attract new customers to public transport.
Especially in regions away from big cities, there is often a shortage of attractive offers for public transport at the moment.
A common criticism is that buses and trains run too seldom.
In the country in particular, the demand for more public transport services with low demand often reaches its economic limits, Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing is quoted as saying in the statement.
"In addition, there will be a shortage of around 87,000 bus drivers in Germany by 2030," Wissing continues.
"This combination presents us with a major problem, because we urgently need public transport to achieve our climate goals."
Traffic in Germany emits significantly more CO₂ than is permitted - the entire sector is lagging behind its climate targets.
The Expert Council for Climate Issues issued a devastating verdict on the Wissing climate plan last year.
His immediate program was "already without sufficient claim," it said.
Wissing sees the self-propelled shuttles as a »game changer«, especially in rural areas.
"And best of all: This is not science fiction, but will be part of the regular public transport offer in our country from next year," he is quoted as saying.
ani/ahh
