Driverless ParkShuttle to continue operations in the Netherlands

2GetThere’s ParkShuttle driverless vehicle, which has been operated by Connexxion at the Rivium business park in Capelle aan den IJssel in the Netherlands since 1999, will continue running for at least two more years. The contract has been extended until 2018 by the Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague (MRDH) and Capelle aan den IJssel plans to renew the system and expand it once the concession runs out.
November 8, 2016 Read time: 2 mins

8172 2GetThere’s ParkShuttle driverless vehicle, which has been operated by Connexxion at the Rivium business park in Capelle aan den IJssel in the Netherlands since 1999, will continue running for at least two more years. The contract has been extended until 2018 by the Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague (MRDH) and Capelle aan den IJssel plans to renew the system and expand it once the concession runs out.

During its 17 years of operation, the shuttle has carried over 2,000 passengers per day and the vehicles currently in operation have each travelled over 200,000 kilometres.

Passenger appreciation, combined with the positive influence of the system on the business park, is the main reason for the extension; a recent survey of passengers indicates that the ParkShuttle compares favourably with a bus service in terms of reliability, operating hours, waiting times and passenger information.

The initial extension will be towards a new waterbus stop, which will also house am electric cycle rental facility. The route to this location runs over public roads, amongst manually driven traffic, meaning that the ParkShuttle is likely to be the first autonomous system operating in mixed traffic without actually featuring a safety driver or steward on-board.

Several other locations within the MRDH region are now being considered for autonomous transit is being considered.

2getthere is currently developing its third generation automated vehicle, incorporating the sensory systems required to be able to drive in mixed traffic. The new vehicles are lighter, completely bidirectional and feature air-conditioning. The first prototype will be available at the end of January 2017 and 2getthere is discussing their use for the contract extension with the city, MRDH and Connexxion.

Location Based Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Integrated weather and traffic data aids winter maintenance
    October 10, 2012
    A US pooled fund study group has developed a system of software aimed at taking the concept of winter maintenance decision support to a new level – a scientific ‘one-stop-shop’ of weather and service performance data. This report is by Charles Chambers and Benjamin Hershey. With advancements in environmental technology come new systems that assist agencies with better management of winter roadway maintenance resources. In the late 1990s the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) began work developing a pr
    Read More
  • Intersection monitoring from video using 3D reconstruction
    March 9, 2016
    Researchers Yuting Yang, Camillo Taylor and Daniel Lee have developed a system to turn surveillance cameras into traffic counters. Traffic information can be collected from existing inexpensive roadside cameras but extracting it often entails manual work or costly commercial software. Against this background the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) was looking for an efficient and user-friendly solution to extract traffic information from videos captured from road intersections.
    Read More
  • Traffic Group: ‘Daily commute may never be the same’
    May 22, 2020
    The pandemic has taught us that our ideas about travel might need a rethink - Wes Guckert suggests a few ways in which change is coming
    Read More
  • Integrated corridor management 'to enhance travel efficiency'
    August 29, 2012
    New systems of software are coming together to form the technological backbone of a project that will apply practically to one corridor in Dallas, but influence travel across a wider area. Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is the lead agency for an extensive Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) project in Dallas, covering an area stretching north east of downtown Dallas, 20 miles long by two miles wide. The corridor is defined loosely by the US-75 freeway and DART’s light rail ‘red line’. These are the theor
    Read More

Highlighted Content