Taking the 'EasyMile' electric, driverless bus

Anything new, or different, is frequently (always) controversial.

The EasyMile electric, driverless bus at Mooloolaba.

And the Easymile’s EZ10 driverless shuttle fits that criteria perfectly.

The driverless electric vehicle, that can carry up to 12 people, was demonstrated in Mooloolaba over three days giving locals a ride up and down The Esplanade and experience being in a vehicle not only without a driver, but even without a steering wheel.

Australians are known as early adopters of new technology and so the arrival of something new in terms of personal transport created considerable interest.

The reaction, however, was mixed from those loud in the praise for this revolutionary bus to those equally noisy in their criticism of what they saw as just another slow moving obstruction on our roadways.

People accustomed to zooming about Mooloolaba at 60km/h, and sometimes faster, saw the demonstration bus, that travelled at less than 10km/h, as dreadfully slow and of no obvious benefit to the movement of people.

Sadly, those who doubted the fundamental idea of electric driverless vehicles viewed this revolution in people movement through the dated prism of the fossil-fuel powered traditional car and had no appreciation of the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and the fact that the bus is just the first step, and a small one at that,  in a significant change to people movement.

Privately owned traditional vehicles kill thousands of people every year and leave many with health issues that leave society with huge medical costs, and depend entirely on an energy-rich publicly funded infrastructure - it illustrates conclusively the idea of privatising profits at public expense.

The driverless bus, at least the model demonstrated, is just the first step in disrupting that strategy.

The EasyMile electric, driverless bus is equipped with
wheelchair access facilities, but sadly the ramp had
been damaged in transit and so wasn't working at
Mooloolaba.

Those critical of the demonstration bus must remember that the early internal combustion engined cars need to be proceeded by a fellow waving a red flag warning others that this newfangled “thing” was following.

The driverless bus, that is neither coming nor going, is air-conditioned, is quiet and wheelchair ready, although as it had been damaged in transit, the electric ramp on the Mooloolaba bus was not working.

The company behind the bus, EasyMile, sees the bus ideal for use at train stations, airports, city centres, theme parks and cultural sites, industrial sites, retirement villages and educational campuses.

In the case of Mooloolaba, EasyMile had previously plotted the short course used over the three days, but along with that is uses lasers, odometry, GPS technology and so is able to avoid obstacles and brake if necessary.

EasyMile is headquartered in France and was set up in 2014.