Armidale’s driverless shuttle trials will now start testing with passengers.
“What we are experiencing today is an Australian-first, the first automated shuttle to operate in mixed traffic within a city centre,” a Transport for NSW spokesperson said earlier this week.
This second phase of the trial will see the automated shuttle known as ARDi operate along a new route – bounded by Rusden, Faulkner, Moore and Dangar Streets – with passengers, for the first time. The shuttle’s stops currently include: Town Hall, the Old Courthouse, the Mall Arcade and the New England Hotel.
Phase two is expected to run for a minimum of two months, during which the ARDi shuttle will operate Monday to Friday from 9am to 3pm, and Saturdays from 9am to 12 noon.
ARDi technicians and engineers have spent the last month working on a digital map of the route to enable the vehicle to identify its location and operate in automated mode.
Throughout the trial, the team will collect data on how automated vehicles operate in city environments and interact with vehicles and pedestrians, which will inform potential extensions of the route.
A Transport for NSW says that the regional city will play a major role in unlocking “the future of regional transportation.”
“We already know this technology has the potential to increase safety, improve productivity and help make people more mobile, but we need to keep trialling in different in environments to get the best local outcomes,” a Transport for NSW spokesperson said.