Livorno

Part of the training for drivers who were going to drive the electric bus during the TAM electric bus pilot project involved driving the bus on a test route to get familiar with the bus before boarding any passengers. This can be considered as a Good Practice with regards to Health & Safety. Following the pre-testing, it was easier to identify the performance of the bus in certain uphill roads which were more challenging. This helped in choosing the routes in which e-bused could operate. The pre-testing also helped the technical staff to identify any common issues encountered during the pre-testing phase. In case of any technical failures the supplier of the bus was available to assist the technicians to resolve these errors. In case of damaged components, the supplier provided the necessary spare parts and guided the technicians on how they should be replaced.

The pre-testing served as training on electric buses for the drivers and technical staff. It also served to determine the ability of the bus to perform well in certain roads, before operating on that road with passengers.

6.4 Livorno

Passenger satisfaction for driverless e-bus service in Merano

In Merano, Italy, a test-drive was carried out to ascertain passenger satisfaction of driverless e-bus service during a trial-test in Merano town centre (the 1st Italian Market Survey of this nature). The objectives of the survey were: 1. to assess the level of interest towards electric buses with no driver 2. to assess the acceptance ratio for this type of service 3. to position correctly the product/service within the urban mobility offer 4. to collect and evaluate doubts and questions about driverless e-bus 5. to process data and present innovative results of the survey.

According to the survey results, confidence in driverless technology (and in such type of vehicle in general) improved considerably after the test drive. Amongst users’ perplexities and doubts, the problems raised referred to possible loss of employment by drivers, security against hacker attacks and inappropriate behaviour onboard. Passengers interviewed displayed much attention also to the availability of municipal mobility “on-demand”.

The test-drive is easily replicable in similar conditions and arrangements. The requirements include GPS support, adequate information to the passengers, recording their opinions before and after the test drive and obtaining the necessary licenses and permits to operate driverless transport in an urban area.