Driverless bus tested on public road in Japan

A driverless bus has been tested on a public road for the first time in Japan. An IT company was contracted to carry out the trial run in Senboku City, Akita Prefecture. The city is designated as a special zone for promoting deregulation and economic revitalization. Reproduction/NHK An electric bus from France was used for Sunday’s experiment. It has no driver’s seat or steering wheel, and uses GPS to travel along a fixed route. The bus automatically stops when it detects a human being or an obstacle. Thirty-six people took turns to ride on the bus, which traveled back and forth 3 times along a 400-meter stretch of road near Lake Tazawa. A man who took a ride with his one-year-old child says it was as comfortable as an ordinary bus, and he hopes it will be put into commercial use, as accidents involving the elderly are on the rise....