Deployment Challenges for Autonomous Bus Services 400 and 191

Written Reply to Parliamentary Question

Ms Poh Li San asked the Minister for Transport

a.          what is the reason for calling off the autonomous bus trials for SBS Transit bus services 400 and 191 running along Shenton Way and Marina Bay;

b.          what is the reason for trialling only one of the six autonomous buses delivered; and

c.           what is the delay to the original timeline to roll out autonomous buses for public transport services on these routes.

Mr Jackson Lam asked the Minister for Transport

a.          how much has been paid or committed for the six autonomous buses procured for services 400 and 191;

b.          what technical or operational issues led LTA to halt their deployment; and

c.           how these buses will now be used.

Reply by Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow

1.          We intend to be more gradual and calibrated in deploying autonomous buses. Instead of deploying them for public buses where the operating environment is more complex and commuter profiles are more diverse, we will start with more focused use cases, such as employee shuttle services, where the smaller autonomous buses are also more likely to be viable.

2.          The value of the contract to pilot autonomous buses was about $8.14 million, which includes the buses, software systems, charging infrastructure, and other infrastructure costs.

3.          The first of six autonomous buses was delivered earlier for testing purposes, and the remaining five buses arrived in Singapore later. The Land Transport Authority intends to deploy all six autonomous buses for focused use cases.