All aboard the future of sustainable transport

In the first step towards rolling out a sustainable transport ecosystem on campus and beyond, autonomous vehicle manufacture EasyMile and public transport company Transdev launched their 2-day trial of a self-driving shuttle bus yesterday at Clayton. The trial marks the beginning of an exciting collaboration across government, industry and academia, brought together by Director of Monash Industry Team Initiative (MITI) and the Engineering Director of Industry Engagement Madeleine McManus OAM. Civil Engineering’s Institute of Transport Studies will take part on the research element of the project.

Remote managed by EasyMile’s fleet management software, the driverless electric vehicle can travel up to 45km per hour, transports up to 12 people and operates on existing roadways with no extra infrastructure needed. Laser obstacle detectors sense when moving objects, like pedestrians or other cars, come too close to the vehicle, triggering the automatic breaking system. Monash students and staff had the opportunity to jump on board and test out the technology for themselves on campus after the trial launch.

The ongoing development of technology will not only help Monash to reach their Net Zero Initiative sustainability targets, but will also open up new skills and jobs into the future for engineers. Transdev’s Kathy Lazenas said, “We already have a shortage of bus drivers, so we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what the future workforce looks like for us, and this project is central to that. While we might not have bus drivers, we’ll need plenty of engineers.”  Madeleine McManus OAM said, “I'm delighted to launch this exciting new collaboration to develop a technology I'm personally passionate about as an engineer - autonomous vehicles. I'm looking forward to seeing how Monash researchers will help drive the technological aspects of the project, and eventually make an important contribution to how autonomous vehicles are introduced and integrated into the wider community in the future.  Engineers will be the people who make this technology work.”