Self-driving shuttle buses hit Stockholm’s streets

Autonomous buses have started sharing the road with pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles in a bustling business district of Stockholm, Sweden.

Travelling at speeds of up to 15mph, the 100% electric vehicles offer a sneak peek into the future of urban transport. They can carry up to 11 passengers, plus a conductor/host, and are free of charge.

Telecommunications giant Ericsson has partnered with local Swedish public transportation and technology providers Nobina, SJ, Stockholm City, Klövern, KTH and Urban ICT Arena to conduct the six-month trial of two electric self-driving shuttles.

Ericsson is providing its Connected Urban Transport (CUT) that includes monitoring of the vehicles, while testing of the buses’ connectivity to a 5G network is planned for the second half of the trial.

The shuttle buses are one part of the Drive Sweden innovation project, launched in 2015.