Autonomous bus starts trial operation in central China

An autonomous bus was put into trial operation Sunday in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, according to local authorities.

   During the 6-km trial, the autonomous bus passed through five traffic-light intersections, four bus stops, and a roundabout. It automatically accelerated, decelerated, identified traffic lights, entered stations, and parked.

   The 5G-supported smart bus can also provide real-time data of times and stops where passengers get on and off the bus, helping adjust the public transport capacity and optimize the layout of bus routes and stations.

   The autonomous driving platform on the bus has functions such as remote intervention and monitoring. It plans the optimal route for the bus based on the data processing of daily driving, said Zhu Tian, an autonomous driving expert with the CRRC Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd.