MUNICH: Researchers in the southern German city of Munich are testing a new urban transit concept that could see city buses being accompanied by a second and third driverless bus that follows close behind.

Designed to help a city quickly respond to peak transit times without the need for humans to drive additional buses, the so-called “platoons” of buses are tightly-grouped with a human driver in the leading vehicle.

The robot ones are linked electronically to the driver’s bus and operate automatically by responding in real time to the lead driver’s commands to brake, turn or accelerate. The buses can be easily split and reconnected.

Munich has nearly completed a test track and will try out the robot buses later this year as part of a project involving the municipal authorities at Stadtwerke München (SWM), Dutch bus manufacturer Ebusco and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

Platooning reduces the number of drivers needed on busy routes and helps transport operators react to fluctuating demand. At present Munich uses diesel buses pulling passenger trailers to cope with peak passenger numbers on suburban routes.

“Platooning allows us to optimally adapt bus operations to the demand - depending on the time of day or route - especially in the urban hinterland,” said SWM’s Svenja Reiss.

The trailing autonomous buses are connected to the leading human-operated vehicle through an “electronic towbar”, comprising sensors, cameras and wireless tethering.

The technology requires a lower level of automation than fully driverless vehicles, which are not expected to become viable in public transit operations for at least five to 10 years. Experts say platooning could be feasible sooner.

The platooning trials are part of an autonomous road traffic project which began in 2021, with €12mil in funding coming from the German Transport Ministry.

Daimler, MAN and Volkswagen Trucks have been experimenting with multiple haulage truck platoons in the US and Japan, although the makers say the benefits of the technology for heavy goods applications have so far been fewer than expected.

 - dpa