The biggest self-driving project in Norway is a collaboration between Oslo Municipality, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Ruter and Holo. In a near future, self-driving buses could run to and from a subway station or a local center or in a hospital area, essentially connecting inner cities.

The project is an important milestone in the process of getting self-driving buses to the Oslo area. Oslo and Akershus wish to have 0% emissions across their public transportation, and this project will test if self-driving buses can support these ambitions for a sustainable public transport system.

The contract covers a three-year trial project. All parties wish to learn as much as possible throughout the process and develop the project during the trial period. The end goal is for autonomous buses to be part of Ruter's regular offer in a few years.

On May 20th 2019 we launched the first phase of the pilot project in Norway – in Akershusstranda. The shuttle service traveled on a route from Vippetangen to the town hall city square and back again. This took the shuttle service past the cruise-terminal and along the harbour front, traveling a total of 1,3 kilometers each way. The first phase has ended.

On December 18th 2019 our second route launched at Ormøya. With this project we’ve moved beyond a showcase route and on to offering everyday mobility with autonomous shuttles for the inhabitants of Malmøya and Ormøya. It makes the area more accessible for people without cars, and some of our expected “regular customers” are children being driven to and from school every day.

Ormøya is an island in the municipality of Oslo, which is connected to the mainland with a bridge going over the strait Ormsundet. It’s a beautiful island with beaches and docks for swimming, and there are lots of little boating ports as well, making it a lovely little community just off the mainland. The shuttles at Ormøya are connecting the residents and visitors on the islands with the other main public transportation.

From May 2020 we started to test out V2X in the Kongens Gate area of Oslo where the next phase of our pilot takes place. With this equipment our buses are now able to communicate with traffic lights, so that our onboard operators won’t have to manually take over in crossings with traffic lights.