Legislator suggests 'driverless' night buses pilot project

A city legislator at the Shanghai People's Congress is proposing a pilot project to operate intelligent connected "driverless" night buses.

Shanghai's night bus service first started in 1958 with many practical routes, Chen Junjie, a deputy from Jiading District said in his proposal during the ongoing Two Sessions.

These night buses, operating from around 11pm and 4am, mostly pass through train stations, docks, industrial areas, residential areas as well as hospitals, providing convenience for Shanghai residents late at night.

However, with the industrial adjustment and urban expansion, the existing night bus routes have gradually become unable to meet the needs of local residents.

"But it doesn't mean that Shanghai no longer needs night buses," he said.

On one hand, although some residents move to suburban areas to live, they still need to work and shopping at downtown areas, he told Shanghai Daily.

"And the development of the night economy has also led to a demand for public transportation in the late night and early morning hours for service personnel returning home, as well as courier and delivery men, passengers arriving at stations in late hours, public service workers, and others who need to travel during the period," Chen said.

The development of Shanghai's intelligent and connected vehicle industry also requires more pilot projects for application scenarios.

Addressing the issue, he proposed that to adopt intelligent-connected technology a pilot project should be launched for driverless night bus route using new-energy "driverless" buses.

Shanghai approved the operation of the first batch of intelligent connected vehicle (ICV) taxis in 2023.

Currently, those taxis only operate in certain areas such as Jiading and Lingang. Compared with cities like Wuhan, the pilot regions are smaller with fewer scenarios. Also, the city only has self-driving taxis with safety personnel, and there are no driverless buses operating yet.

In addition, adoption on driverless night buses can prevent disruption to normal traffic during daytime due to heavy traffic flow. Meanwhile, by selecting major roads connecting transport hubs, downtown areas to the suburbs, and from Puxi to Pudong areas for the pilot routes, it is easier to ensure vehicle visibility and safety.

He said that for the ICV and driverless technology industry, the pilot project of driverless buses can also contribute data support to the development of the industry.

"Only when the vehicles are in operation can data be generated," Chen said.

Chen also suggests adopting new-energy vehicles, such as hydrogen vehicles and electric vehicles, for the pilot project.

"Considering the safety, during the initial stage, we can adopt the safety officer mode at early stage. Then, as laws and regulations are refined and automotive intelligence is enhanced, we can gradually transition to the fully autonomous driving mode," Chen said in his proposal.