Discovering the mobility of the future with “Self-e”

Project

Discovering the mobility of the future with “Self-e”

Location

Zurich

Launching year (s)

2018

Project state

The test service with the self-driving vehicle «Self-e» on the premises of Zurich public transport (VBZ) has enabled VBZ to gain in-depth insights into automated driving.

Initiated by

VBZ
Involved SAAM members

Full description

In February 2018, VBZ conducted a test operation with a self-driving «last mile shuttle». The self-driving and electrically powered vehicle was called «Self-e». The minibus ran for a good two weeks on a fixed route on the VBZ site and was accompanied by trained VBZ employees from the driving service, who could have intervened in an emergency.

The traffic situation on the VBZ site can not be compared with the complex traffic in a city centre. The test operation with «Self-e» enabled all employees to ride along with the vehicle and to familiarise themselves with the current state of the technology, as well as to recognise future challenges and opportunities.

Even if the current limits of the technology are evident, automated driving is developing rapidly. VBZ employees have therefore engaged with possible solutions for the mobility of the future in workshops. Raising employees’ awareness of new technical developments is important in order to make use of the great mobility expertise within the company and to prepare VBZ for future developments in all divisions of the company.

At the accompanying workshops, around 200 people developed ideas for the mobility of the future. In addition to employees from all divisions of VBZ, staff from the city of Zurich also took part in the workshops. Additionally, participants from the Institute for Transport Planning and Systems (IVT) of the ETH Zurich attended the workshop. Through the inclusion of different professional profiles and different perspectives, a lot of knowledge for the future could be gathered and visions made tangible.

Self-e project video:

https://youtu.be/qZrVeO1eqn8

Some of
our other projects

Migronomous (LOXO)

2023

Following a straightforward online ordering process, the products that have been requested from Migros are loaded into the delivery vehicle. The “LOXO Alpha” then sets off to cover the 500 meters to Schindler’s site where it supplies the respective items.

Initiated by

Line 13 of the Swiss Transit Lab

2022+

With Line 13, the Swiss Transit Lab is about to take another step in the development of automated mobility in public transport. With the planned pilot project, a pilot line will be put into operation in the city center of Schaffhausen between the train station and the Stahlgiesserei development area before the end of this year. Following the tourist application of line 12 at the Rhine Falls, the development of the first and last mile by automated vehicles should thus arrive in the everyday life of the population of Schaffhausen.

Initiated by

ULTIMO

2022

The ULTIMO project aims to lay new foundations and deploy the very first economically viable large-scale, on- demand-responsive and passenger-oriented public transport systems.

Initiated by