The first ever self-driving electric bus will soon be placed on streets of Istanbul in Turkey. Meanwhile, e-buses with driver will start operating in two Turkish provinces, Manisa and Elazig.
This new driverless e-bus was built by the Istanbul Electric Tram and Tunnel Company (IETT) and it was introduced the very first day of the three-day World Cities Congress, on April 17, in the capital of Turkey.
Faruk Ozlu, Turkish Science, Industry, and Technology Minister and Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, former Spanish Prime Minister, were among first people who got a chance to ride the innovative e-bus before more buses of the kind hit the streets.
Istanbul Mayor Mevlut Uysal said the design of the e-bus without driver drew inspiration from the city’s tramways.
According to Turkish media, when people talk about electric vehicles they only think of private cars, but public transport should also have an important place in the field of electric vehicles.
In the beginning, the self-driving e-bused will run at airports and on roads closed to regular traffic, where it will be tested.
Electric buses come to provinces
In Manisa and Elazig, two country’s provinces, 22 electric buses will soon start operating, Turkish media reported. According to the plan, all 22 buses will hit the streets in the next few days.
It is expected that additional 10 electric buses will also come to inhabitants’ service in another Turkish province, Sanliurfa, by the end of 2018.
Production of four models of electric buses is established at an enterprise of the Turkish automobile company Bozankaya.
