Skip to main content

AVs for seniors from Via in New South Wales

Autonomous vehicle (AV) developers seem to targeting ‘closed’ communities such as retirement complexes or universities and Via is also joining this trend. The company has launched a free AV service called BusBot for a retirement community in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. In partnership with local bus operator Busways, Transport for NSW and EasyMile, BusBot is operating in the Marian Grove Retirement Village in Toormina, a suburb of Coffs Harbour. Via says its technology allows the vehicle
July 18, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

Autonomous vehicle (AV) developers seem to targeting ‘closed’ communities such as retirement complexes or universities and Via is also joining this trend.

The company has launched a free AV service called BusBot for a retirement community in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.

In partnership with local bus operator Busways, Transport for NSW and 8246 EasyMile, BusBot is operating in the Marian Grove Retirement Village in Toormina, a suburb of Coffs Harbour.

Via says its technology allows the vehicle to navigate to virtual bus stops, allowing passengers to share trips without lengthy detours.

Daniel Ramot, co-founder of Via, says AVs need to be shared by multiple people to reach their full potential.

“Via’s sophisticated systems are able to power, in real time, the movement of millions of connected autonomous shuttles and their passengers,” Ramot adds.

Each vehicle can carry up to 15 people and travel at around 10km/h. Users can access the service from the BusBot app.

Last month, Via launched an on-demand %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external shared transit system false https://www.itsinternational.com/categories/utc/news/via-offers-on-demand-shared-transit-for-massachusetts-seniors/ false false%> for people over the age of 60 in the City of Newton, Massachusetts.

Related Content

  • May 10, 2019
    Survey reveals smart cities are failing disabled people
    Six out of ten global experts say smart cities are failing disabled people, according to a new survey. Smart Cities for All, a global initiative comprising non-profits G3it and World Enabled, says just 18% of experts confirm that the smart city initiatives familiar to them use international standards for ICT accessibility. ICT accessibility is the quality of a mainstream technology to be used by the widest range of users regardless of abilities or disabilities. The survey, based on 175 entrepreneurs in
  • February 18, 2019
    Tata Motors to supply 40 e-buses to India
    Tata Motors is to deploy 40 electric buses to Lucknow City Transport Services in India to support the government’s efforts for promoting electric vehicles (EVs). The delivery is part of a larger order in which 255 e-buses will be delivered to six public transport undertakings including WBTC (West Bengal), LCTSL (Lucknow), AICTSL (Indore), ASTC (Guwahati), J&KSRTC (Jammu) and JCTSL (Jaipur). Tata says its Ultra Electric buses will have a range of up to 150km on a single charge and will operate between
  • January 19, 2018
    Europe’s number one leading Mobility as a Service conference says the future of transport lies in delivering change
    First hand reports on the rapid progress being made, as well as the obstacles being faced, by Mobility as a Service projects across Europe dominate the agenda of the second “MaaS Market Concept to Delivery” conference taking place in London next month. Speakers will cover the political and regulatory implications, open data, technology and common standards, demand responsive transport and future business models. This is Europe’s number one leading MaaS event and it includes presentations from Port
  • March 28, 2018
    Uber suspended from resuming Arizona self-driving tests
    Arizona’s state governor Doug Ducey has ordered officials to suspend Uber’s right to test autonomous vehicles on local roads pending the outcome of inquiries by national transport safety regulations – in a report from the BBC. It follows a letter that Ducey sent to the car-hailing company in which he stated that there had been an unquestionable failure to make safety the top priority.