Focus on Autonomous Mobility

Stavanger Leads Europe in Fully Driverless Vehicles—What’s Happening in Sweden?

Vy’s autonomous bus in Stavanger is now the first vehicle in Europe to operate entirely on its own, without a driver behind the wheel. The bus is also the only one of its kind to have traveled through a long tunnel without human intervention. You can hear about this and many other exciting developments in autonomous public transportation on Persontrafik.

The project involving the self-driving full-size bus in Stavanger, Norway, was launched by Vy Buss in 2022. Now, 20,000 kilometers and approximately 16,000 passengers later, it operates with an empty driver’s seat. The safety driver, who previously sat up front in the bus, has moved to the back and only steps in if an unexpected situation arises, such as emergency roadwork.

“Our bus is the first vehicle in Europe to be authorized to operate without a driver behind the wheel,” says a proud Kai Kristoffersen, project manager for autonomous public transportation at the Norwegian company Vy Buss.

To push the technology to its limits, Vy Buss has had the bus operate on a route in central Stavanger that alternates between cars, pedestrians, bike lanes, and roundabouts. There have been few problems, unlike the sister project in Gothenburg, which has been temporarily suspended since the autonomous bus was rear-ended by a tram.

Ahead of the move to remove the driver from behind the wheel in Stavanger, Vy Buss decided to transfer the bus to a commuter route that runs 80 percent on a dedicated lane. Eventually, the safety driver will be phased out entirely, explains Kai Kristoffersen.

“So far, this bus costs twice as much as a regular bus, and if we have to keep the driver on board, it won’t be such a good business case. The goal is for the bus to be able to run almost around the clock without personnel costs. That’s where we’re headed,” he says.

The bus in Stavanger is the only vehicle in Europe to have successfully traveled through a 700-meter-long tunnel without driver assistance.

We don’t see any point in the bus if it doesn’t fit into regular traffic, so the technology must also be able to handle things like tunnels. Now we’ll see how the bus behaves—and, not least, how pedestrians, cyclists, and other vehicles react to the fact that there’s no driver. “There are many interesting phenomena we’ll be exploring,” says Kai Kristoffersen.

Oslo’s public transit authority, Ruter, will also participate in this segment to provide an update on the project involving on-demand driverless vehicles in Groruddalen.

Autonomous Vehicles in Sweden

And what’s happening in Sweden? Thomas Axelsson from Lindholmen Science Park and Drive Sweden will address this in two other program segments, one of which will feature the Swedish Transport Agency and Västtrafik. Among other things, Thomas Axelsson will discuss the Transformation Map, a national initiative that brings together government agencies, cities, public transportation operators, and the business community to lay the groundwork for future autonomous mobility services in Sweden.

Technological development is advancing rapidly on the international stage, but for Sweden to benefit from these developments, progress is also needed in the areas of regulation, governance, and collaboration. It is precisely these issues that the Transformation Roadmap addresses. “We will also discuss how lessons learned from previous pilot projects can be applied to the next phase,” says Thomas Axelsson.

Text: Paula Isaksson