Singapore’s Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said that autonomous vehicle AV is the future and that the technology can be scaled and used along fixed routes.
“The deployment risks can be more carefully managed with lower vehicle speeds and time of use,” he said while speaking to a big gathering of transport professionals at the opening ceremony of Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition on November 6. “Equally importantly, these use cases can help address our pressing manpower challenges in the logistics and public transport sectors, where it has been challenging for operators to hire drivers,” the minister added, as quoted by Straits Times.
The use of AVs isn’t new in Singapore. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has already approved its use in two instances. Electric robo-sweepers from Chye Thiam Maintenance are used in Airline Road and Marina Coastal Drive. Similarly, supermarket chain FairPrice Group uses electric logistics vehicles to transfer goods between its distribution centres in Benoi and Joo Koon.
Chee said AVs have passed LTA’s tests in both these instances, adding that the Land Transport Authority is ready to work with other firms who are interested in using autonomous vehicles.
According to the minister, the LTA would partner with a public bus operator and deploy autonomous minibuses in Singapore after purchasing them. For this, “less technically challenging” bus routes would be preferred for the roll out. If successful, it’ll expand to routes with more traffic.
“The minibuses will also have a safety driver on board and will be monitored for reliability in the early days, before we transit to having a remote safety operator controlling the vehicle from afar,” the Transport Minister said.
Explaining the country’s choice to start with minibuses and logistics vehicles, the minister said Singapore opted for these as it was less challenging to operate compared to robo-taxis. However, Chee said that the government will exploring proposals involving robo-taxis in the future.
While the Transport Minister accepted that progress regarding AVs in Singapore has been slower than anticipated, he stated that now the country is looking to accelerate the growth in the area. He, however, highlighted the importance of expanding safely while ensuring that different parts of the AV ecosystem are ready.
“Before any AVs are put on the road, they will be programmed, tested and trialled thoroughly to minimise the risks. However, just as with human drivers, we must be mentally prepared that there will be some accidents involving AVs,” he said.
The minister said that Singapore’s approach would be to devise a system that’ll minimise risks and failure if those were to happen.