The self-driving, steering wheel-less WEpod is making its first test run on a Dutch road on Thursday. The bus will be driving a route around Wageningen University. This is the first time in the world that a self-driving vehicle will be driving with other traffic, the university announced.

Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen will be aboard the WEpod for its first official test drive on the Wageneningen Campus. The vehicle will drive on a route on De Elst near the zodiac building. If the test results are positive, the route will be extended towards the Ede-Wageningen station during the course of this year.

The WEpod is a self-driving vehicle with no steering wheel and no break pedal. It runs completely automatically and completely on electricity.

The province of Gelderland, the initiatior of this test project, hopes that the WEpod will give a major boost to durable and flexible mobility.