“One step forward into the future”, is how the Councillor for Public Services in Zaragoza, Natalia Chueca, described the launch of the first intelligent and autonomous bus in Europe. This is a research test within the Digizity project that will be key to the evolution of this type of technology.
The vehicle will be incorporated into line 40, which runs through the San José neighbourhood, and at the moment it will not pick up passengers, but the intention is that it can do so in the coming months.
It is not a bus without a driver, but rather there will always be a person in charge of driving the vehicle, although intervening much less than in a conventional one and checking that all processes work correctly.
Specifically, the vehicle automates acceleration, braking and lane maintenance operations, among others, and has sensors that allow it to detect any obstacle found on the road.
At the moment, it will cover only a section of 1.2 linear kilometres of a road for the exclusive use of buses, to guarantee safety.
