Route information (21st of December 2021)

• Status Ended, March 2020 - November 2021

• Driving setup Route operation

• Amount of shuttles 3 Navya shuttles

• Autonomous driven KMs 30,357 KM

• Carried passengers 21,127 Passengers

• Project partners Aalborg Municipality, Aalborg University, Nordjyllands Trafikselskab

In a collaboration with Aalborg Municipality, we drove Denmark’s first driverless bus on the Astrupsti area in Aalborg East. The project with autonomous technology was partly focused on how a highly divided area can be transformed to a socially sustainable and cohesive suburb.

Aalborg Municipality joined forces with Aalborg University and Nordjyllands Trafikselskab to create the framework for a unique research and development project about the implementation of driverless technology and the effects it has on society - and they chose Holo as the operator. The collaboration is like an OPI partnership (public and private innovation) with the intention of continuously adapting and developing the shuttle service, based on the practical learnings and insights.

The area around the Astrupsti has been divided and the residents need more mobility, both in the local area and to connect them to surrounding towns. By deploying a self-driving shuttle service across the area in a trial period, the residents of this area will be able to move around in an easy and safe way, which will bring the neighborhood closer together.

Two electric buses drove around a 2,1 km long route along the newly renovated and modernised Astrupsti. The route follows Astrupstien from Jerupstien and all the way down to the newly opened care home for residents with dementia, and back again.

There were 10 stops on the route, which all had accessible ramps, so there is easy access for e.g. baby strollers og wheelchair users.

The driverless bus was part of a larger urban development project in Aalborg East. The bus helped to promote a sustainable development of the area. The area is highly connected through the path called Astrupstien, which will be the main street and arterial road, connecting different types of housing and residents in Aalborg East. The buses was used by various types of residents across all ages and backgrounds. With a wish to heighten mobility for all residents in the area, the project aimed to build the foundation for a more united Aalborg East.

By increasing mobility in the area, the project aimed to:

• raise the internal mobility in the area  

• mobilise a group of citizens, who are otherwise not so mobile

• link the area to other public transport going further away                        

• make Aalborg East a ‘first mover’ within autonomous technology

• heightening the sense of safety in the area, as well as creating a local ownership of the shuttle buses

• contributing with knowledge about the meeting between technology, city and users

Your SmartBus operator in Aalborg East

In the SmartBus you would meet an operator, whose job partly was to monitor traffic safety. They can also offer a helping hand for passengers that need it, answer questions about our projects, the technology behind the buses or something entirely different.

All of our operators were local and have been certified to operate autonomous buses through our internal education. They have received training in technology, operations, first aid, bus driving and conflict management - amongst many other things. Besides all of this, they had already been operating in our projects in Gothenburg and Oslo, where they have raked up more than 2,400 hours of experience on the roads with the autonomous buses. So it’s a group of very competent and skilled operators, who benefitted the SmartBus project in Aalborg greatly.