Very promising results for the autonomous shuttles being tested on the Charles de Gaulle bridge
From 23 January to 7 April 2017, RATP, in partnership with Île-de-France Mobilités and the City of Paris, tested two autonomous shuttles on a dedicated lane on the Charles de Gaulle Bridge (Paris 12th and 13th). In total, more than 30,000 passengers travelled free of charge aboard the 100% electric EZ10 shuttles of the French startup Easymile. With a capacity of 6 seats, these shuttles, recharged at night, ran 7 days a week, from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., with an agent on board.
A particularly instructive test
This experiment marks an important milestone for RATP, Île-de-France Mobilités and the City of Paris, as the autonomous vehicle is a future opportunity to complement the existing mobility offer. It could make it possible to meet mobility demands that are not met today (sparsely populated areas, low flows, first and last kilometres, etc.), offering more flexibility and adaptability, and to imagine new forms of services to be offered to tomorrow's passengers.
The experiment, which is particularly appreciated by passengers, will make it possible to work on ways to improve. This will concern in particular the interior space of the shuttle in order to gain in modularity. All the data collected will also be used to work on the issues of speed, crossing junctions, obstacle avoidance or remote command.
New experiments underway, and to come
Easymile's EZ10 shuttle has already been tested by RATP Dev on 16 and 17 March at the University of Texas at Austin as part of the SXSW Festival of Music, Film and Interactive Media. It is also being tested from 5 April to 8 May in Boulogne-sur-Mer, via CTB, a subsidiary of RATP Dev and operator of the Marinéo network, in partnership with the City of Boulogne-sur-Mer and the Communauté d'agglomération du Boulonnais. In the Ile-de-France region, it is within CEA Saclay that the shuttles will mark a next step to offer an internal service to the site in May.
The RATP, Île-de-France Mobilités and the City of Paris are also preparing a new experiment, between the Château de Vincennes and the Bois de Vincennes Floral Park, which will be set up in the coming months.
RATP, which is leading the public transport component of the government's Nouvelle France Industrielle – "Autonomous Vehicles" plan, has a wealth of expertise to offer in this area: management and supervision of a fleet of vehicles (the RATP Group operates 15,000 buses worldwide), engineering, operation and maintenance of automatic systems in the rail sector.