RISE developing autonomous bus route connecting Arlandastad, Arlanda Airport

Swedish state-owned research institute RISE is leading a new project with Vy Buss, Arlandastad Group, Applied Autonomy and Adastec to develop a commercial autonomous bus route between Arlandastad and Arlanda Airport

“No similar project with full-sized self-driving buses has been done so far in Sweden, so it is both extremely exciting and very challenging for us at Vy Buss,” Zakaria Abna-Aissa, Vy Buss director of commercial traffic, said.

Abna-Aissa said the team has been working to meet all the prerequisites before beginning the test stage. In the first six months, they will focus on security aspects, infrastructure requirements and legislation. After that, they will test a pilot bus at a speed range of 50 to 70 kilometres per hour.

The commercial route is expected to begin service after the test, serving the popular Arlandastad-Arlanda Airport route. Government agency Vinnova finances the project, which begins this month.

Vy Buss will provide bus units for the project. Its commercial business side includes brands like Vy bus4you and Vy flygbussarna. Vy flygbussarna currently provides access to and from seven major Swedish airports, including Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport. In total, the Norwegian-based firm operates approximately 720 buses from 20 different depots in Sweden.

Can carry up to 52 passengers

Real estate company Arlandastad Group will support the infrastructure development for the project. Autonomous vehicles usually require fibre and sensor networks, safe public WiFi facilities and IoT devices.

Norway’s Applied Autonomy and US-based software company Adastec will provide technology solutions for the self-driving bus. Applied Autonomy’s xFlow platform enables users to control automated transport processes regardless of the vehicle type.

Meanwhile, Adastec’s SAE Level-4 Automation Platform allows original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to develop automated commercial vehicles. The solutions provided by these two firms will boost accessibility to the Arlanda Airport since buses can operate around the clock without human operators.

Adastec has previously worked on a similar project in Norway, the Karsan Autonomous e-Atak. The eight-metre driverless electric bus developed using its tech can carry up to 52 passengers while travelling on a planned route in Stavanger. According to Adastec, Europe’s regulatory landscape is suitable for developing automated bus transport.