Nov 04, 2015

Navya is proud to announce the name of its first customer: acting on behalf of Swiss Post, it’s PostBus Switzerland Ltd, leading bus company providing public passenger transport, to test two autonomous vehicles in Sion over two years. His ambition? Understand the added value of these autonomous shuttles to bring new mobility solutions in even inaccessible to public transport. For Navya, this experiment appears as a new proof of its growing power on the transport market of people.

PostBus Switzerland Ltd, a Swiss specialist of urban transport, is the first group to acquire 100% autonomous, driverless and electric vehicles. The company could be the first transport company operating this type of technology in public areas for passenger transportation in Switzerland. The bus company acquires two 100% autonomous, driverless and electric ARMA shuttles. Launched in early October at the ITS World Congress 2015, the ARMA will transport up to nine people at a maximum of 20 km/h through the streets of the capital of Valais. The vehicles will be monitored and controlled using software developed by BestMile, a Swiss start-up specialized in the field of fleet management. Furthermore, the autonomous shuttle ARMA will be dressed in the colors of PostBus Switzerland AG. The aim is to provide a complementary mode of transport to cover all the needs of users, including people from unserved areas.

In the initial phase from December 2015 until around spring 2016, specialists will test the vehicles in a cordoned-off private area. If the relevant authorities approve the pilot project, the second phase will involve operating the autonomous shuttles in public areas and transporting people. Areas encompassing the pedestrian zone and shared space in Sion’s old town and the city’s tourist centre, as well as the area leading to the Tourbillon and Valère castles have been designated for the tests.

Map of the city of Sion marking out the route for the ARMA autonomous vehicles

Watch all the NAVYA ARMA videos

NAVYA Website

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