On Monday January 23 in Paris, between rail stations Austerlitz and Lyon, began to run electric transport without a driver. This new service is free and will last until April 2017 as a test.
The bus accommodating 6 passengers operates automatically, but for insurance of passangers there is operator that can take control if necessary. The bus moves separately from the citywide traffic route. Its maximum speed is 25 km/h. It is available 7 hours a day, at night buses are charged with electricity. RATP group bought these two electric minibus Easymile EZ10 from the company Easymile from Toulouse.
The RATP group is the 5th largest company in the world in the area of public transport, which is founded by the French Republic. Daily it carries 14 million passengers in 14 countries on 4 continents. It manages metro lines, trams, trains, buses, intercity buses, funiculars.
This experiment aims, first of all, collecting the opinion of users about the new service, and possible suggestions for its improvement. For EZ10 this is not the first test. It has already been tested in more than 50 cities in 14 countries in Asia, USA, Middle East and Europe. Easymile shuttles can carry up to 12 people.
Easymile is a French startup, specializing in software for autonomous driving, and in the solutions smart mobility. The company was founded in 2014. It employs 70 people in Toulouse, Singapore and Denver.
On 19 January 2017 another major transport company Alstom became one of the minority shareholders of Easymile, it invested €14 million there. At the same time, a contract between them was signed to join forces in providing comprehensive solutions in the field of urban transport.
Sources: Easymile, RATP, La Croix
