A driverless bus could soon be seen driving along Terralong Street in Kiama – as long as the council can get some help with the $200,000 price tag.
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Kiama Council’s director of engineering and works Gino Belsito said councillors spoke to him about the possibility of getting one of the high-tech shuttle buses to run around the CBD.
Mr Belsito said the council was looking at a four-kilometre loop that included Terralong Street, Blowhole Point and the Centre for Aged Care Excellence.
“I’m pretty much looking at it from the point of view of moving people around,” Mr Belsito said.
“The benefits of that is that it will obviously help in terms of transporting people and it could assist with relief in regards to parking, because people won’t be concentrated in the centre, they can spread out and jump on the shuttle.”
Mr Belsito said a driverless bus has been trialled along the foreshore at South Perth for almost a year.
“If the funding was made available it could happen sooner rather than later.”
- Kiama Council's Gino Belsito
Earlier this month, the NSW government announced its own trial of the technology, which will see a driverless bus trialled in an off-road environment before eventually operating at Sydney’s Olympic Park.
While the usually slow traffic along Terralong Street might annoy motorists, Mr Belsito said it provided a good environment for a driverless bus.
“The movement through the area that I’m talking about is relatively slow,” he said.
“This unit can go up to a maximum speed of 45km/h however in the trial in Western Australia they’ve governed it to 25km/h.
“Now 25km/h would be more than ideal for here because you can’t really get through it much quicker.”
While a bus and driver could service the four-kilometre route now, Mr Belsito said the driverless technology could avoid some ongoing costs – as well as acting as a bit of a tourist drawcard.
The biggest stumbling block, however, will be the bus’ $200,000 cost.
“It can be purchased and we could have one here in a relatively short time,” he said.
“The question is I’m trying to source funds, so I’m working with the state government to see if there is any funding opportunities that I might be able to take advantage of.
“If the funding was made available it could happen sooner rather than later.”
Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
