Singapore to have ‘many’ autonomous vehicles in five years: Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow

Autonomous vehicles can also be smaller, and their routes changed more flexibly, he pointed out.

“All in all, I think they will be a significant addition to our public transport network.”

Mr Siow noted residents of San Francisco in the US already hiring AVs off the streets, and the Chinese city of Guangzhou also adopting the vehicles. 

In January, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to pilot autonomous public bus services. The initiative aims to assess the technical feasibility of AV technology for public bus services, and gain insights into operational aspects at both service and fleet levels.

The pilot will start with smaller buses of at least 16 seats, with bus service 400 which runs around the Shenton Way bus terminal and bus service 191 which loops from Buona Vista bus terminal to Media Circle in one-north. 

These areas were chosen for their shorter and simpler routes. 

The RFP stated that the buses will initially operate with bus drivers onboard as safety operators, with the possibility of moving to remote supervision after demonstrating reliability for at least six months. 

LTA plans to procure six autonomous buses for a start, with operations beginning in mid-2026 for an initial period of three years. Depending on their performance, up to 14 more buses may be acquired, to expand the pilot to two more services.