Driverless pods will be on the roads of Singapore by the end of the year
Futuristic-looking driverless pods will be on the roads of Singapore by the end of the year. Families will use the cars to drive to school and work - and will not need to use the steering wheel. The pods, which run on electricity, are able to travel autonomously on smaller roads, such as those within a gated community or school campus.
The pods were made by Dutch company 2getthere, who are working with Singaporean transportation operator SMRT to get these cars on the road. They announced on Wednesday they are building 24-passenger cars that are slated to run commercially by the end of the year, and have established a joint venture called 2getthere Asia that will operate and maintain the vehicles there.
2getthere said the cars are expected to be able to drive up to 8,000 passengers per hour going in a single direction. A cleantech business park in Abu Dhabi, Masdar City, has used pods made by 2getthere and SMRT since 2010. They look like smaller versions of the pods due to hit the roads of Singapore.
The company has also built a similar system for Rotterdam's Rivium Business Park. This has six running vehicles which can carry 20 passengers each. 2getthere says the pods are used by 2,500 people each day.
