Swiss City Rejoins Changemakers Using Autonomous Vehicles to Shape the Future of Public Transport

Bern, 24th August 2020 – Swiss public transport provider Bernmobil has restarted its future-ready Line 23 after a break in operations due to Covid-19 restrictions. The fleet of two EasyMile EZ10 driverless shuttles make up the line, operating in the historic Bern Matte district until mid-2021.

The minibuses use deep learning to understand the old town’s streets, running between Bärenpark and Marzilibahn station autonomously. This pilot project aims to test the integration of autonomous solutions into existing traffic systems and the use of autonomous shuttles as a „first and last mile“ transportation solution.

So far, the pilot has proven that seamless integration into Bern Matte’s existing public transport is possible, that driverless technology is being accepted by the community and that innovation is an important step in the roadmap for a city's public transport. The reopened deployment is also progressing obstacle detection and V2X communication thanks to the Gen 3’s next-generation sensor set. 

Bernmobil introduces a new partner, too - Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) - who add their experience of rail as part of a smart and accessible transportation chain.

“We’re on the cusp of a transport revolution and this project makes an important contribution to shaping the intermodal travel chain,” Benedikt Sperling-Zikesch, EasyMile’s Managing Director for Germany, Austria and Switzerland said.