Monheim am Rhein: The first Autonomous Shuttle Fleet on Public Roads in Germany

On 26 February 2020, the Bahnen der Stadt Monheim GmbH (BSM), a know public transport provider in the west of Germany, was granted the concession for a minibus line starting from the bus station to the old town center, which runs exclusively on public roads. Soon it became the first public transport provider in Germany to deploy and operate a fleet of driverless, autonomous Shuttles on public roads. Since early 2020, five EZ10 autonomous shuttles are being used in Monheim am Rhein to extend the public transport to the historic old town.

The vehicles can accommodate up to 11 passengers and is still being accompanied by a so called "Safety Operator". The operator on board is still necessary by German law. In Monheim am Rhein, the buses are seamlessly integrated into the existing public transport network and run from 7am to 11pm, 7 days a week.

Daily Driverless Shuttle Service for Medical Campus

EasyMile's fully driverless shuttle runs daily on weekdays without any human supervisor on board between the parking lot and main entrance of the IUCT Oncopole medical campus in Toulouse, France.

Anyone can use it Monday - Friday between 7.30am - 10.30am and 3.30pm - 6.30pm at the IUCT Oncopole medical campus in Toulouse, France.

EasyMile and its partners are running an autonomous shuttle service in Toulouse on the IUCT Oncopole (cancer hospital) site, to cover the 600m gap between the entrance and the parking lot, bringing more mobility to visitors, staff and patients. 

This service demonstrates the safety of a fully autonomous public transport service (without operator on board) on public roads. It is a real benchmark for the development of autonomous vehicles in France and Europe overall.

It is the first autonomous shuttle service authorized at Level 4 of autonomous driving (completely removing any human supervizor from on board) on public roads in Europe.

Moving toward the goal of compaction

Indoor-outdoor automation is bettering the movement of parts at PSA’s Sochaux plant. The spaces are large and they need to move goods from point A to B. PSA is looking to this type of automation to make their flows more economical, as well as more strategic. The goal of the Sochaux 2022 plan is to go from two lines of production to one, that will go a bit faster, producing 24/7. By reducing the surface area used, costs are also reduced. These are complex factories that are being streamlined with the use of TractEasy.

Taking on challenges to promote new services through technology

Airports like Narita International all share a number of pain points:

• The cost of labor is high
• There are driver shortages
• Business can be low-margin

Plus, they need to keep up with the latest technology.

Air transport players need to improve cargo and baggage handling performance at airport hubs. By automating these flows, they can also better focus on decision-making and other actions, saving time and increasing efficiency across the board.

Around 5,000 luggage tractors are sold to airports per year worldwide, with the biggest airports making hundreds of purchases. Electrification is ongoing in this segment and is growing rapidly at about 15% per year. Considering global growth in air traffic and the new airports and terminals being built in the next 10 to 20 years, the EZTow is key for this market.

Retirement village required a flexible mobility solution 

The BusBot Project is a collaboration operated in partnership with Busways, Transport for NSW, Coffs Harbour City Council, EasyMile, Via, and Papercast, providing a door-to-door, driverless, on-demand service to the residents of the Marian Grove retirement village. Elderly residents are able to use a smartphone or a landline to order a vehicle to pick them up and connect them to key areas. This gives residents their independence, enables social inclusion, and a better lifestyle. The integration of autonomous and on-demand technology in a live service, as well as better serving an older population through new mobility solutions, are key benefits of this project.

Driverless mobility service for community and spa guests 

EasyMile, in collaboration with ioki, a subsidiary company of Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) has been operating the first autonomous shuttle driving on public roads in the European country since October 2017. For their project in Bad Birnbach, EasyMile and ioki work closely together with the regional bus company (Regionalbus Ostbayern (RBO), the district of Rottal-Inn, TÜV Süd, and the local community.

Cars are traditionally the main way people get around in rural areas, but it is important to offer those living outside of towns and cities an alternative that is convenient, as well as energy and cost-efficient.  Autonomous shuttles are the perfect innovative public transport solution in such rural areas. 

As mobility is one of the major challenges in these environments, driverless technology can respond by overcoming the first-last mile issues it presents. As a rural but also thermal town, Bad Birnbach sees a lot of visitors arriving by train and so the need for mobility is particularly important.

Public transport driverless shuttle service fully integrated in Sweden

Four EZ10 shuttles provide a mobility service within the residential area of Barkarbystaden, located in the Järfalla municipality, close to Stockholm in Sweden. It is the largest new property development in Northern Europe with 10,000 new households. The service is integrated within the transportation offering of SL (the Stockholm public transport authority) and is operated by Nobina, who are the leading public transport operator in the country. Passengers are required to purchase a ticket or validate their travel card to board the service. 

The autonomous shuttles provide a first-last mile service, linking, the residential block to rapid bus transport links and a shopping area. The service has been operating since 2018, 6 days per week. The distance covered by the shuttles is expanding regularly.