LTA to test autonomous minibuses on complex routes

The government said it is also open to deploying robotaxis.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will expand its study of autonomous minibuses to "more challenging routes."

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said LTA will purchase some autonomous minibuses to deploy in Singapore, together with a partner public bus operator.

During the initial stages of the study, the minibuses will have a safety driver on board.

LTA will assess the safety and reliability of minibuses over time before moving to a model with remote safety operators, as seen in other countries.

Meanwhile, Chee said Singapore is also open to testing robotaxis but emphasised that these are more challenging to operate since they travel on different routes.

"We thought we would take a more risk-managed and calibrated approach because safety is our priority. We will start the trials on public roads with vehicles that travel on fixed routes.  This can include robotaxis that are run on fixed routes," Chee said.

"If there are operators that think that this is commercially viable and you want to pilot these proposals, please let LTA know," Chee added.