Driverless vehicles as quick trip alternatives or park and ride shuttles are one of the bold new ideas city leaders are hoping will help shape a future Ballarat free of congestion.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
If this is the future, is Ballarat on board?
Many of the city’s leaders were on Thursday – quite literally. They experienced Windmill Drive as a passenger of a self-driving bus.
Committee for Ballarat is pushing for Ballarat to be the first public road trial site of autonomous vehicles in Victoria.
Watch the video below to see the bus in action
Chief executive Melanie Robertson said the demonstration of EasyMile’s autonomous vehicle showed the possibility of an alternative public transport and parking solution for Ballarat.
“Seeing the bus today has given people confidence. The conversation and excitement has been about how we might apply this technology to Ballarat,” she said.
“Is it a run up Sturt Street, is it a lap of the lake or a focus as a tourism vehicle?”
Other ideas floated were a shuttle from a park and ride site to a major employer like the hospitals.
While City of Ballarat is not formally backing Committee for Ballarat’s push for a driverless bus trial in Ballarat, councillor Daniel Moloney said he would like to see the city be a leader in autonomous technology in the next five to 10 years.
“For council it means planning considerations around where you would put these kind of vehicles and considerations around them, like do they have their own space or can they mix in with other vehicles, and understanding what that could actually do for travelling dynamics,” he said.
“The key thing is most people right now think we are being ridiculous and this is back to the future sci-fi type stuff, but it’s not, it is very real.”
While Premier Daniel Andrews promised more free parking for Ballarat on Wednesday, many have questioned the investment’s alignment with long-term goals for the CBD.
Ms Robertson said the autonomous bus provided an alternative of less cars in the CBD and increased public transport use, with more frequent services and better connections.
For Visit Ballarat chief executive Noel Dempsey, the possibilities for a driverless shuttle bus for tourism is an exciting possibility.
“We often say we are a walking city - that is true for attractions in the middle of town - but you throw in the lake, Sovereign Hill, George Farmer or MADE and other attractions, they are just that step too far for tourists to walk. This provides an incredible opportunity,” he said.
The driverless bus demonstrated in Ballarat on Thursday followed a predefined route with a set stop.
The electric vehicle carries up to 15 passengers and is designed to operate on existing road ways with no additional infrastructure required.
It has been deployed in 20 countries around the world, including on open roads and in mixed traffic in Stockholm, Sweden and outer-Adelaide.
Adwait Kale, from developer EasyMile, explained the bus uses GPS, light detection and ranging, and an inertial measurement unit to manoeuvre. Sensors allow the vehicle to detect obstacles.
“Safety is number one priority for EasyMile so in the product design we do have multiple safety layers,” he said.
“The sensors have safety zones around it and the vehicle will respond depending on what particular zone the obstacle is in. The vehicle will stop but the community needs to be taken on a journey on how to behave around an autonomous vehicle.”
EasyMile’s electric EZ10 autonomous shuttle is currently on a two-year trial in Renmark, providing a service focused on the mobility needs of the elderly community and tourism.
The route connects the areas of the Renmark CBD, the Renmark Club, aged care villages, the swimming pool, library and shopping precinct. Stops compliment existing regional bus and local transport services.
Under the changes to the Road Safety Act, VicRoads is now able to grant permits to individuals or organisations wanting to conduct trials of automated vehicles, under the condition all vehicles will require a human supervisor.
Once it has been established a vehicle can drive safely, this condition may be removed to allow the vehicle to drive in automated mode in limited circumstances without a supervisor.