Autonomous buses to be tested from mid-2026 around Marina Bay
From mid-2026, six driverless buses will ply routes around Marina Bay and Shenton Way, as well as the one-north business park, as part of a pilot by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to test autonomous public bus services.
On Jan 27, LTA launched a tender seeking proposals for plans on operating autonomous public buses.
This will help it assess the technical feasibility and operational requirements for deploying such buses at the service and fleet levels, LTA said in a Facebook post.
The first six autonomous buses will be deployed from mid-2026 and operate alongside existing manned buses for an initial period of three years, LTA said in a statement.
The pilot will start with smaller buses with at least 16 seats on two routes.
Service 400 plies the Marina Bay and Shenton Way area, calling at Marina Bay Cruise Centre, Gardens by the Bay, and Shenton Way and Downtown MRT stations.
Service 191 plies the one-north area, stopping at one-north and Buona Vista MRT stations, as well as Buona Vista bus terminal.
“We are starting with these routes, as they are shorter and simpler,” LTA said in a Facebook post. It may buy up to 14 more autonomous buses to expand the pilot, LTA added.
The selected tenderer will work closely with SBS Transit, the operator of services 400 and 191, “to develop operational concepts and plans for operating the autonomous public buses”, LTA said.
During the initial phase, the buses will operate with bus captains on board as safety operators.
“The selected tenderer is expected to operate for at least six months to demonstrate the reliability of the autonomous buses’ self-driving and remote operations capabilities,” LTA said.
A remote safety operator will then take over the supervisory role, it added.
LTA also plans to put in place additional safeguards, such as requiring all passengers to be seated and wear seatbelts.
The tender is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025 and be awarded by the end of 2025.
In 2024, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said LTA would buy autonomous minibuses to deploy them here in partnership with a public bus operator.
Speaking at the Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition in November 2024, he said the roll-out will begin on “less technically challenging” bus routes with lower traffic and ridership levels, before being expanded to more challenging routes after experience is gained from initial trials.
The minister had said Singapore was starting with autonomous minibuses instead of robo-taxis, which are more challenging to operate as they travel on different routes to provide point-to-point services.
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