TAG PREPARES FOR DRIVERLESS MILES THE EASY WAY
ROBINA-BASED Transit Australia Group is hoping a partnership with an autonomous vehicle company will lead to it producing its own driverless vehicles.
TAG has announced an Australia-first joint venture in the driverless bus sector — partnering with Francebased EasyMile.
It has agreed to operate and maintain EasyMile’s EZ10 driverless electric shuttle buses from its Adelaide manufacturing hub, run by Precision Buses.
Trial dates and locations are scheduled for later this year, and will soon be announced. The plans include the development of an autonomous version of TAG’s ZDi electric urban bus.
Driverless technology is not new in Australia.
The technology has been tested in Western Australia, and last week a driverless electric shuttle was unveiled at Flinders University in South Australia, initially set to operate between the university and a nearby train station. TAG CEO Michael McGee said the partnership offers the opportunity to undertake a robust examination of how autonomousvehicle technology could be used.
“We have combined world-leading autonomousvehicle products and technology with our expertise and innovation in designing and operating mass transit networks,” Mr McGee said.
“This is an exciting opportunity for us to work with a world leader and to explore how we can integrate this emerging technology into existing public transport systems.” TAG is one of Australia’s largest privatelyowned mass-transit companies.
Its operations include bus design and manufacturing, urban network design, planning and operation, and workforce development and training.
Mr McGee said the partnership with EasyMile presented further research and development opportunities within the autonomous vehicle market, including developing an autonomous version of TAG’s ZDi electric urban bus.
“Our immediate focus is on working with EasyMile to deliver successful trials across Asia-Pacific and expanding our local knowledge, skills and capabilities around driverless bus technology, operations and maintenance.
“However, as the market for autonomous-electric vehicles matures, we are well positioned through Precision Buses to manufacture and assemble autonomous vehicles — and this is something we are very excited about.”
He said the ZDi electric bus could be adapted for autonomous use.