Brussels Airport to get first self-driving bus

Flemish public transport company De Lijn will in 2018 launch a pilot project with a self-driving bus that rides in a loop around Brussels Airport, reports De Standaard. Mobility minister Ben Weyts has long been a proponent of testing out self-propelled vehicles, he told the newspaper.

The project will be launched around the airport, where most of the traffic is on private roads between the car parks, businesses and airport terminal. Because the new bus would technically remain on private roads, the project would not require a special permit.

From 2018, the project will see the buses operate around the clock for short, repeated intervals. "The goal is to take as many as 250 passengers every hour between the staff parking lot, the car parks and the airport businesses," says Roger Kesteloot of De Lijn. The bus will only drive on a dedicated track at a speed of 15 to 20kph, and never in regular traffic.

The cost of the project, an estimated €360,000, is to be divided equally between De Lijn and the airport.