La Trobe University’s autonobus now open for the public to try

La Trobe University’s autonobus has been undergoing closed testing around the Bundoora campus for four months, and from today it will be open to the public to ‘Experience the future of transport in Victoria’.

The autonobus driverless shuttle is a collaboration between VicRoads, La Trobe University, RACV, ARRB (all iMOVE partners), RACV, Keolis Downer, and HMI, and is partially funded by the Victorian Government Smarter Journeys Program.

“We are excited to be offering Victorians a unique opportunity to step into the future and experience first-hand world-leading driverless technology,” said Professor Ani Desai, the Director of La Trobe’s Centre for Technology Infusion.

“The public’s participation is essential. The success of all new technologies stands or falls with the end user adoption. That is why we are inviting anyone, not only the technology enthusiasts, to come and give us feedback. This feedback will help shape the future of transport in Victoria.”

In addition to giving people a taste of the future of transport, La Trobe University’s autonobus is gathering information in four key areas:

1. Safety and operational aspects: Testing how autonomous vehicles interact with their environments to the development of safety and risk analysis guidelines.
2. Value proposition and customer experience: Establishing the pre- and post-disposition with regards to automated vehicles, pre-and post-concerns, and the customer experience evaluation from various potential user groups.
3. Legislation and regulatory hurdles: Identifying the gaps and conflict in the relevant legislation and regulations to enable future public operations of autonomous shuttles.
4. Commercial and liability aspects: Developing commercial framework outlining the responsibilities and liabilities between operators, vehicle suppliers, road operators and supporting third parties such as insurance providers.

Like to take a ride on the autonobus?

If you’d like to book a place to take a ride on the autonobus, visit Register Your Interest form on the La Trobe University website. This phase of the autonobus trial will continue until July 2018.