The autonomous electric shuttles deployed as part of the Navetty research project are now operating in Yvelines without a human operator onboard.
This is the first time in Europe that autonomous shuttles have been fully driverless whilst operating in a complex environment under normal traffic conditions.
The two shuttles were developed by EasyMile and are operated by Transdev. Prior to this latest milestone, they were running with an on-board supervisor since their launch in May 2021.
The Navetty project aims to help solve the last mile problem faced by many of the region’s residents and will eventually provide an optimal connection to RER stations.
Currently, the autonomous shuttles are completing daily routes of up to 6.6 kilometres around the 92-hectare ArianeGroup site in Yvelines. The route includes roundabouts, intersections, a tunnel and 18 stops.
This site brings together the complexities of a city and allows the shuttles to be integrated into a shared environment with pedestrians and vehicles without infrastructure modifications.
Benoit Perrin, General Manager of EasyMile said:We are proud to have a reliable and relevant service for ArianeGroup employees, on such a complex site and in a totally autonomous way. Autonomous shuttles reinforce the attractiveness of public transport, by offering practical and safe collective mobility solutions. Our technology is ready to be deployed on sites of this scale and other sites will soon follow Ariane's example.
Following this success, the Navetty project will continue to progress. In 2023, operations will start on an open road between the Mureaux train station and the ArianeGroup site. This will be an opportunity to test the shuttles as a last mile service.
