Belarus' first driverless electric bus tested in Great Stone park
15:14, 13 May
Minsk Oblast Governor Aleksandr Turchin and the leadership of the China-Belarus Industrial Park tested the self-driving electric bus. This is the first sample of such transport in Belarus, learned from the press service of the Minsk Oblast Executive Committee.
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The electric bus is based on the technology from Singapore. The maximum speed a prototype can develop is 40km/h. The safe operating speed is lower, at about 25km/h. Driving range per charge is about 180km. Charging time is no more than 4 hours.
According to Aleksandr Turchin, work on such transport began at the end of 2019 when a decision on the 5G test zones was made. “One of the ideas was to see how the unmanned transport would work in the industrial park. Today it was the first experience, but I think this is just the beginning," he added.
According to Aleksandr Turchin, the commercial operation of unmanned transport is possible in the near future. But before that the transport will be tested in the industrial park. Then the traffic police will study the issue, identify what needs to be changed in the legislation for commercial operation of unmanned vehicles. “We plan (and I think the head of state will support it) to dedicate lanes for public transport as part of the M3 Minsk-Vitebsk highway renovation project. In the future these lanes can be used for self-driving transport. It seems to be a distant future, but in fact it is our present,” said Aleksandr Turchin.
In general, such digital technologies hold a great future. “Distance learning, e-delivery and other services were present in our lives before. Today they are developing at a breakthrough pace. It is no doubt that the future belongs to digitalization. Our goal is not to miss out on this future, because it is also economic growth,” the governor said.
The governor also held a working meeting with the representatives of the industrial park. The parties discussed both the implemented and promising projects, as well as the current situation in the innovation cluster. “I am happy to be here today. Five years have passed since the leaders of Belarus and China visited the site. I am glad that the park is implementing numerous projects. As the heads of state said then, the Great Stone should become a true gem of the Silk Road. I think that is what we are doing. I will always be your reliable partner,” Aleksandr Turchin said.
Photo: Onliner.by
