But the report states that should the autonomous transit buses become available “the TTC would be happy to become a leader” in their use. Ross McKenzie, managing director for the Waterloo Centre of Automotive Research at the University of Waterloo, said the transit agency is right to start preparing for autonomous vehicles. The report determined that automated vehicles have the potential to save money, increase schedule reliability, reduce stress for operators, and cut down on collisions. The report also raised concerns about how to conduct fare collection and address passenger incidents on board vehicles. Mercedes-Benz is developing a “Future Bus” that it claims will be able to operate “more safely, efficiently, comfortably than conventional buses,” but the TTC report said that test data from the vehicle has not yet been made public.

Source: thestar March 23, 2017 02:26 UTC