EasyMile EZ10, from CityMobil2 to WEpods

If you are familiar with the CityMobil2 project, you probably know these vehicles, the EasyMile EZ10. In the framework of the CityMobil2 project, these electric driverless shuttles have transported 19,000 passengers in Vantaa (Finland) and have successfully accomplished their mission during the second CityMobil2 large demonstration on the EPFL campus, in Lausanne (Switzerland).

This model will now be used in the framework of the Dutch WEpods project. Two EasyMile EZ10 shuttles have already reached the Netherlands. At the core of this initiative, Polis member, province of Gelderland, intends to make the buses drive between Wageningen University campus and the city of Ede. The innovative aspect of the project lies in the booking system. The partners involved in WEpods will develop an app which will allow passengers to book a seat and to specify their starting points and their destinations. Then, vehicles are expected to choose their itineraries themselves.

However, before a full implementation, WEpods partners face a first challenge, the legal authorization to run the driverless shuttles on public roads. The test phase is expected to start in November. WEpods will then join other automated mobility projects in the Netherlands where driverless transportation research is taking up.

Picture: CityMobil2 - The EZ10 shuttle, during the demonstration in Lausanne (EPFL, Switzerland)

• More information

CityMobil2: www.citymobil2.eu

Contact: Suzanne Hoadley: SHoadley@polisnetwork.eu and Thomas Mourey: TMourey@polisnetwork.eu

WEpods: www.wepods.nl (in Dutch)