Marly Autonomous TPF Shuttles

This pilot project from Public Transport Operator (PTO) Transports Publics Fribourgeois (TPF) has been designed to be presented as an official line (line 100). It is included in the official TPF schedule and tries to imitate live conditions as much as possible. It operates Monday to Friday from 6:30 to 18:30. Shuttles follow a fixed circuit, come every 30 minutes and have four stops. They are wheelchair accessible. Along their route they encounter mixed traffic on public streets.

These autonomous shuttles are a potential solution to the first/last mile problem while keeping costs low. The pilot in itself allows TPF to try out their autonomous shuttles, position themselves in the future of mobility, test the integration of the shuttle into the existing public transport network and study the users’ acceptance.

The budget of this pilot is 1,500,000 CHF. The Canton of Fribourg bought one vehicle. Marly Innovation Center (owner of the site where the vehicles partly circulate) bought the other vehicle. The Agglomeration of Fribourg and TPF covered the costs of exploitation. The Commune of Marly covered the costs of necessary infrastructures (signage, etc.)

Several autonomous vehicles pilots are currently taking place in Switzerland. Permits are being issued by the Federal Office of Roads.

The pilot has faced some challenges including maintaining the planned number of routes per day, dealing with the changing vegetation, adapting to different weather conditions as well as responding to other drivers’ reaction towards the shuttle on the road.

Research associated with the pilot include several analysis studies of the functional security, the electric consumption (heating, air conditioning) and the charging requirements (frequency, optimisation). Some of the aspects that need to be improved include diversion from the trajectory due to a loss of localisation, some software issues, the shorter autonomy (8 hours) when using the heating or air conditioning, the rapid degradation of the tires and the vehicle’s suspensions.