Latest news with #JenniferLi
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
China's WeRide launches Southeast Asia's first fully driverless bus service in Singapore
WeRide, a leading mainland Chinese self-driving technology developer, has launched Southeast Asia's first fully driverless bus service in Singapore – operating without a safety officer on board. The Robobus, equipped with 360-degree vision and capable of detecting obstacles more than 200 metres away, operates on a fixed 1.2km loop every 12 minutes, connecting three hotels and The Galleria shopping mall on Sentosa island, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The launch followed a year-long trial that began in June 2024, during which the autonomous vehicle transported tens of thousands of passengers with safety operators onboard – without a single accident, the company said. 'All companies intending to deploy autonomous vehicles must first pass relevant assessments related to their autonomous capabilities and demonstrate their ability to operate safely on public roads with safety operators onboard without any incident,' said Lam Wee Shann, deputy chief executive and chief technology officer at the Land Transport Authority, which plans, builds and maintains Singapore's land transport infrastructure and systems. The interior of WeRide's fully driverless Robobus in Singapore. Photo: Handout Once companies pass the assessments, they can remove the onboard safety operator requirement and replace it with constant remote monitoring instead, he added. Jennifer Li, the chief financial officer at WeRide, who also heads its international business operations, said that the launch of the driverless bus service proved its technology was 'ready to transform public transportation at scale'.
AsiaOne
5 days ago
- Automotive
- AsiaOne
Driverless bus in Sentosa gets green light to run without safety officer in first for Singapore
SINGAPORE - In a first for Singapore, autonomous vehicle (AV) firm WeRide has been given permission to operate a self-driving shuttle bus service in Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) without any safety personnel on board. Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) gave the firm the green light after extensive testing and safety assessments of WeRide's remote operations and on-road performance here, said the Guangzhou-based company on July 17. The company said this is also the first time in South-east Asia that AVs have been given permission to operate without an onboard safety officer. Its eight-seater driverless bus, fitted with a suite of cameras and light detection and ranging sensors, has been plying a fixed 12-minute route within the RWS integrated resort since June 2024. The company said it has completed thousands of trips and ferried tens of thousands of passengers without any incident. In January, WeRide was allowed to remove the steering wheel and pedals from the vehicle, but a safety officer was still required to be on board to intervene in case of an emergency. WeRide's chief financial officer and head of international, Jennifer Li, called the removal of the onboard safety officer a "groundbreaking milestone" for the future of mobility in the region. "Deploying the region's first fully driverless robo-bus demonstrates that our vehicles are safe, reliable, and ready to transform public transportation at scale," Li added. LTA deputy chief executive for technology Lam Wee Shann said the authority has been working with WeRide to facilitate autonomous shuttle trials at RWS, pointing to an assessment framework that was revised in November 2024 to drive the safe adoption of more mature AV technologies. WeRide, which has established a dedicated research and development centre in Singapore, has also been trialling its self-driving road sweepers in Jurong Lake Gardens since March. This is after it had earlier deployed similar driverless road sweepers in Marina Coastal Drive and at the Esplanade in November 2024. WeRide's announcement on July 17 comes as Singapore prepares to make a major AV push to strengthen the public transport network. By the start of the fourth quarter of 2025, self-driving shuttles will hit the roads in Punggol as part of plans to ramp up driverless vehicle deployments in the next five years. Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow told reporters during a visit to Guangzhou in late June that the deployment of the autonomous shuttles here will be done in steps. [[nid:719631]] At the start, these vehicles will not ferry any passengers until residents and road users are more comfortable with them. They will have a safety officer on board and be clearly identifiable by a bright colour. The hope is that the autonomous shuttles can start taking passengers by the end of 2025. The safety officer can then be removed eventually in the third stage of the roll-out, as is the case in places like Guangzhou, where some autonomous bus routes are already being operated remotely. The Straits Times spoke to 27 Punggol residents earlier in July and found a mix of excitement and scepticism about autonomous vehicles. Financial advisor Shariqqi Rizvi, 28, said he was open to the idea, noting that newer residential estates in Punggol East are hard to access as they are served by only one bus route currently. Carole Yeo, 36, however, does not believe that driverless vehicles are safe. She said: "I'd be scared. What if something happens suddenly? I don't quite trust them." This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
AsiaOne
5 days ago
- Automotive
- AsiaOne
Driverless bus in Sentosa gets green light to run without safety officer in first for Singapore, Singapore News
SINGAPORE - In a first for Singapore, autonomous vehicle (AV) firm WeRide has been given permission to operate a self-driving shuttle bus service in Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) without any safety personnel on board. Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) gave the firm the green light after extensive testing and safety assessments of WeRide's remote operations and on-road performance here, said the Guangzhou-based company on July 17. The company said this is also the first time in South-east Asia that AVs have been given permission to operate without an onboard safety officer. Its eight-seater driverless bus, fitted with a suite of cameras and light detection and ranging sensors, has been plying a fixed 12-minute route within the RWS integrated resort since June 2024. The company said it has completed thousands of trips and ferried tens of thousands of passengers without any incident. In January, WeRide was allowed to remove the steering wheel and pedals from the vehicle, but a safety officer was still required to be on board to intervene in case of an emergency. WeRide's chief financial officer and head of international, Jennifer Li, called the removal of the onboard safety officer a "groundbreaking milestone" for the future of mobility in the region. "Deploying the region's first fully driverless robo-bus demonstrates that our vehicles are safe, reliable, and ready to transform public transportation at scale," Li added. LTA deputy chief executive for technology Lam Wee Shann said the authority has been working with WeRide to facilitate autonomous shuttle trials at RWS, pointing to an assessment framework that was revised in November 2024 to drive the safe adoption of more mature AV technologies. WeRide, which has established a dedicated research and development centre in Singapore, has also been trialling its self-driving road sweepers in Jurong Lake Gardens since March. This is after it had earlier deployed similar driverless road sweepers in Marina Coastal Drive and at the Esplanade in November 2024. WeRide's announcement on July 17 comes as Singapore prepares to make a major AV push to strengthen the public transport network. By the start of the fourth quarter of 2025, self-driving shuttles will hit the roads in Punggol as part of plans to ramp up driverless vehicle deployments in the next five years. Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow told reporters during a visit to Guangzhou in late June that the deployment of the autonomous shuttles here will be done in steps. [[nid:719631]] At the start, these vehicles will not ferry any passengers until residents and road users are more comfortable with them. They will have a safety officer on board and be clearly identifiable by a bright colour. The hope is that the autonomous shuttles can start taking passengers by the end of 2025. The safety officer can then be removed eventually in the third stage of the roll-out, as is the case in places like Guangzhou, where some autonomous bus routes are already being operated remotely. The Straits Times spoke to 27 Punggol residents earlier in July and found a mix of excitement and scepticism about autonomous vehicles. Financial advisor Shariqqi Rizvi, 28, said he was open to the idea, noting that newer residential estates in Punggol East are hard to access as they are served by only one bus route currently. Carole Yeo, 36, however, does not believe that driverless vehicles are safe. She said: "I'd be scared. What if something happens suddenly? I don't quite trust them." This article was first published in The Straits Times . Permission required for reproduction.
Business Times
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Business Times
China's WeRide secures LTA approval to run driverless bus without safety officer in Sentosa
[SINGAPORE] China-based WeRide has secured approval from Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) to operate a driverless bus in Sentosa without an on-board safety officer. This will be the first autonomous vehicle (AV) in South-east Asia to run without such personnel on board, the company said in a press release on Thursday (Jul 17). Called the Robobus, the AV had already been plying a route at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) since last June – but with a safety officer present. Under LTA's AV assessment framework, companies deploying AVs must first pass certain tests and demonstrate safe operations on public roads with safety operators on board. 'Once they pass the assessments, they may proceed to remove the on-board safety operator requirement and replace it with constant remote monitoring instead,' said Lam Wee Shann, LTA's chief technology officer. Jennifer Li, chief financial officer and head of international at WeRide, said that LTA's approval 'demonstrates that our vehicles are safe, reliable, and ready to transform public transportation at scale'. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The Robobus connects key points within RWS on a fixed 12-minute loop. It is equipped with lidar technology, cameras and sensors capable of detecting obstacles more than 200 m away. The bus has not had any safety incidents thus far, said WeRide. The company was given the green light as Singapore eyes greater deployment of AVs. In June, Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow said that he expects AVs to be on the Republic's roads in the next five years. WeRide runs a research and development (R&D) centre in Singapore, with support from the Economic Development Board (EDB). EDB executive vice-president Cindy Koh welcomed more companies to collaborate with the city-state on AV innovation. She said: 'WeRide is an example of how AV companies can partner with Singapore to undertake AV trials and R&D, and create new jobs such as software development engineers, machine learning engineers and data scientists.' LTA will continue to work closely with companies that seek to deploy AVs to 'alleviate manpower constraints, increase productivity and enhance transport connectivity', said Lam.
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Driverless bus in Sentosa gets green light to run without safety officer in first for S'pore
Find out what's new on ST website and app. The eight-seater driverless bus is fitted with a suite of cameras and light detection and ranging sensors. SINGAPORE – In a first for Singapore, autonomous vehicle (AV) firm WeRide has been given permission to operate a self-driving shuttle bus service in Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) without any safety personnel on board. Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) gave the firm the green light after extensive testing and safety assessments of WeRide's remote operations and on-road performance here, said the Guangzhou-based company on July 17. The company said this is also the first time in South-east Asia that AVs have been given permission to operate without an onboard safety officer. Its eight-seater driverless bus, fitted with a suite of cameras and light detection and ranging sensors, has been plying a fixed 12-minute route within the RWS integrated resort since June 2024. The company said it has completed thousands of trips and ferried tens of thousands of passengers without any incident. In January, WeRide was allowed to remove the steering wheel and pedals from the vehicle, but a safety officer was still required to be on board to intervene in case of an emergency. WeRide's chief financial officer and head of international, Ms Jennifer Li, called the removal of the onboard safety officer a 'groundbreaking milestone' for the future of mobility in the region. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Fatal abuse of Myanmar maid in Bishan: Traffic Police officer sentenced to 10 years' jail Singapore Man charged over manufacturing DIY Kpods at Yishun home; first such case in Singapore World US strikes destroyed only one of three Iranian nuclear sites, says new report Business 5 things to know about Kuok Hui Kwong, tycoon Robert Kuok's daughter and Shangri-La Asia head honcho Singapore Sex first, then you can sell my flat: Women property agents fend off indecent proposals and harassment Singapore Singapore Prison Service debunks online claims that it launched 'the world's first floating prison' Singapore Jail for elderly man for using knife to slash neighbour, who later died of heart disease Opinion Grab tried to disrupt taxis. It now wants to save them 'Deploying the region's first fully driverless robo-bus demonstrates that our vehicles are safe, reliable, and ready to transform public transportation at scale,' Ms Li added. LTA deputy chief executive for technology Lam Wee Shann said the authority has been working with WeRide to facilitate autonomous shuttle trials at RWS, pointing to an assessment framework that was revised in November 2024 to drive the safe adoption of more mature AV technologies. WeRide, which has established a dedicated research and development centre in Singapore, has also been trialling its self-driving road sweepers in Jurong Lake Gardens since March. This is after it had earlier deployed similar driverless road sweepers in Marina Coastal Drive and at the Esplanade in November 2024. WeRide's announcement on July 17 comes as Singaporeprepares to make a major AV push to strengthen the public transport network. By the start of the start of the fourth quarter of 2025, self-driving shuttles will hit the roads in Punggol as part of plans to ramp up driverless vehicle deployments in the next five years. Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow told reporters during a visit to Guangzhou in late June that the deployment of the autonomous shuttles here will be done in steps. At the start, these vehicles will not ferry any passengers until residents and road users are more comfortable with them. They will have a safety officer on board and be clearly identifiable by a bright colour. The hope is that the autonomous shuttles can start taking passengers by the end of 2025. The safety officer can then be removed eventually in the third stage of the roll-out, as is the case in places like Guangzhou, where certain autonomous bus routes are already being operated remotely. Interviews by The Straits Times with 27 Punggol residents earlier this month found a mix of excitement and scepticism about autonomous vehicles. Financial advisor Shariqqi Rizvi, 28, said he was open to the idea, noting that newer residential estates in Punggol East are hard to access as they are served by only one bus route today. Ms Carole Yeo, 36, on the other hand, does not believe that driverless vehicles are safe. She said: 'I'd be scared because what if something happens suddenly? I don't quite trust it.'
