Barcelona tests 52-capacity autonomous bus in Montjuïc for 10 days

Barcelona's transport authority (TMB) is testing a 52-capacity autonomous bus across Montjuïc Mountain during 10 days, from Tuesday until Friday, November 14. The six-stop circular route starts at Dante Square and reaches the Olympic Stadium Lluís Companys, before returning to the starting point in a 1.8-kilometer loop. 

Those interested will be able to travel for free in, at the moment, blue-painted autonomous bus daily between 9 am and 7 pm. At the moment, this is an "innovative project" with a vehicle of "similar size to the ones seen across the bus network," Jacobo Kalitovics, the director of the TMB bus network, told media outlets on Tuesday.

The goal is to "strengthen security, efficiency, and service quality" using a Level 4 autonomous vehicle, out of a maximum of 5 levels. At the moment, due to current Spanish traffic legislation, "there is a safety driver as a preventive measure to take control of the bus at any moment, but the bus delivers a fully autonomous driving using sensors," he added.

At the moment, to be fully autonomous and integrated into the city, the traffic legislation across Spain and the cities needs to change, as these vehicles need to be connected to their surroundings. However, the results of these tests will "accelerate or reduce" the speed at which the system is implemented.

The bus is 8 meters long and is the only "industrial self-driving bus" available on the market, as Karsan's Spain adviser Ángel Luis Estrella, the company behind the bus, told media outlets.

There are several of these models across Europe, including Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Germany, or France.

Passengers will see dozens of cameras and sensors across the bus, including a satellite positioning system, LiDAR technology, RGB cameras, and other devices to allow the bus to drive regardless of the weather conditions.

Most of these sensors are also used to position the bus and observe what is happening around it.

"A computer always has absolute control of everything," Luis Estrella said, and the system has "a very short reaction rate" compared to a human. If a driver is "looking at the rearview mirror, it is not controlling for a fraction of a second, its other sides," he said.

"Meanwhile, this does not happen with an autonomous vehicle," he added.

Previous smaller tests

This is not the first time that an autonomous bus has driven on Barcelona's streets. Earlier this year, a self-driving smaller bus was tested on Passeig de Gràcia boulevard.

Back then, it was a four-stop route, with stops in front of La Pedrera monument or at La Rambla boulevard. As opposed to a public test promoted by Barcelona's TMB, the project was conducted by French car manufacturer Renault Group and the international tech company specializing in self-driving cars, WeRide.

That was the first time an autonomous public bus was being tested in Catalonia and Spain, and it was first seen on the streets of the Catalan Capital during this year’s Mobile World Congress.