Finland’s first autonomous bus, the Autonomous e-ATAK from Karsan, is planned to see its short service route expand as successful operations continue.
The 8-metre long vehicle recently entered operation along a 5.5-kilometre route between Haurala and Lampaala, Tampere, becoming the country’s first passenger transportation service to utilise completely autonomous technology.
The vehicle was approved for service following a series of trials providing transport for students on a 5-kilometre route across the Michigan State University campus.
Karsan CEO Okan Baş said that Autonomous e-ATAK, developed in collaboration with its technology partner ADASTEC, is Finland's first self-driving bus carrying ticketed passengers on an open road, following the US and Norway, and added:Although the 17-stop route includes challenging elements for autonomous vehicles such as traffic lights, intersections and pedestrian crossings, Autonomous e-ATAK can easily overcome them as a model that has proven its success worldwide. Our maximum speed will be 30 km/h on the first part of this route.
But when the second route is added, our vehicle will reach 40 kilometers per hour. As Karsan, the high-tech mobility solutions we have developed with the vision of being 'One Step Ahead in the Future of Mobility', continue to be the first choice of the world's historic cities.
Karsan’s Autonomous e-ATAK unit has also seen successful operation in several other countries, including France, Romania, Turkey and Norway, where it has recently seen a significant route expansion to include a tunnel, the first of its kind to do so.
