Coffs Harbour will welcome another major attraction soon with driverless vehicles rolling into town, one of two regional areas in NSW to host the fully automated vehicle trial.
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The Member for Oxley and Minister for Roads, Melinda Pavey, said the trial was the first of its kind in regional Australia and sees the NSW Government partnering with Busways, Coffs Harbour City Council, EasyMile, and Via.
“We want to test this technology outside of the Greater Sydney area so our regional communities can be part of our planning for connected and automated vehicles,” Mrs Pavey said.
The shuttle will be at different locations around Coffs Harbour, using a level four fully automated EZ10 vehicle with capacity to carry up to 12 passengers.
The trial, which will start before the end of the year will run for 12 months in three phases with gradually increasing levels of operational complexity in real world environments:
Phase 1: A shuttle service travelling to Muttonbird Island, operating on the Northern Breakwall connecting Coffs Harbour International Marina and Muttonbird Island
Phase 2: The shuttle will move to Marion Grove Retirement Village
Phase 3: Operate on Harbour Drive in Coffs Harbour CBD, helping people travel between precincts and transport links.
The other second regional destination is Armidale.
Safety will be a major priority throughout the trial, with a shuttle supervisor on-board at all times.
