The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has announced that it will progressively deploy three fixed-route autonomous shuttle services in Punggol starting from 2026.
The services will help to improve first-mile-last-mile (FMLM) connectivity within the town, and will help connect residents to key amenities and transport nodes in Punggol, potentially cutting travel times via public transport by up to 15 minutes.
Two of the routes will be operated by Grab, while the third route will be operated by ComfortDelgro.
The first route, which is a 10km round trip operated by Grab, will connect Punggol residents living in Matilda Court and Punggol Clover to the polyclinic at Oasis Terraces, and the market at Punggol Plaza.
This will go into service from the second quarter of 2026, and operate from 9.30am to 5pm from Monday to Friday.
The second route will be operated by ComfortDelGro and will connect residents living in Punggol Northshore to Oasis Terraces and Punggol Plaza, while the third route will be operated by Grab, and will connect Matilda Court, Punggol Clover and Punggol Northshore residents to One Punggol and Punggol Coast Mall.
Launch dates for these routes will be announced subsequently.
Grab will be using two autonomous vehicle (AV) platforms developed by AV technology company WeRide, namely the WeRide GXR 5-seater which is converted from a Farizon Supervan that's imported from China, and the WeRide Robobus 8-seater, which is a dedicated driverless vehicle designed for AV use.
ComfortDelgro, meanwhile, will be using its Zig Driverless vehicle, which is co-developed with Chinese autonomous mobility company Pony.ai, and is based off a Toyota Sienna MPV that's imported from the US.
The services will be introduced in phases in order to ensure safety before deployment. The first phase will involve testing and preparatory work, which will take place over the next couple of months.
The autonomous shuttle vehicles being used by the operators will be required to pass a closed-circuit test at the Centre of Excellence for Testing and Research of Autonomous Vehicles (Cetran) at Nanyang Technological University during this phase.
Thereafter, they will be allowed to conduct on-road preparatory activities without passengers, with a safety operator on board at all times.
These activities include detailed route mapping, sensor calibration, validation of artificial intelligence models, and allowing safety operators to familiarise themselves with the routes and localised traffic conditions.
The next phase will be a trial with community rides, which is slated to start from early 2026.
Selected members of the community will be invited during this phase to experience the autonomous shuttle services with a safety operator on board for free.
This will allow residents to experience the technology and familiarise themselves with the autonomous shuttle services. LTA and the operators will also gather feedback from the community and adjust service operations if required.
The autonomous shuttles will then go into full commercial service following the trial phase, and be available to the public.
Further details, including fare, will be announced closer to the commencement of full service, but both operators said that fares are likely to fall in between that of public transport and ride hailing services.
The Authority added that a safety operator will continue to be on board the shuttles once full service has started.
The shuttle services will be painted in purple, and will also be marked out with the words "Autonomous Shuttle", with an amber beacon on the roof for easy identification by road users.
Signage will also be placed along the shuttle routes to direct users to the designated pick-up and drop-off points, and provide more information such as routes, stops, schedules and pre-booking instructions, if required.
Speaking at the opening of the Autonomous Shuttle Roadshow at the Punggol Digital District on Sep 20, Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow, said: "Our plan is for AVs to add to our public transport network. In the immediate term, AVs will complement our bus network with more feeder routes and more night services."
Siow, who is also Senior Minister of State for Finance, added: "The services will benefit Singaporeans like seniors going for their medical appointments, young people coming home after a late night out, or parents who prefer to spend more time with their children rather than driving them to school."
Senior Minister of State for Transport and National Development, Sun Xueling, who is also an MP for Punggol, said: "We chose Punggol as the first location to roll out the use of autonomous shuttles in the community as we have a diverse group of residents, both young and old, with some very clear travel patterns that can be better served through these services."
She added: "We also have a very compact town with our amenities grouped in certain locations, and this is an opportunity for us to enhance transport options intra-town with the use of autonomous shuttles."
Alex Hungate, president and chief operating officer of Grab, told AsiaOne at the sidelines of the event that the company has been training some of its driver-partners to be safety officers to operate the autonomous shuttles.
He said: "We've also begun to familiarise the vehicles with the streets here in Punggol, and that is a process that will continue over the coming months, with thousands of trips for them learn the road signs, traffic lights, and how to accommodate things like road works in a safe manner."
ben.chia@asiaone.com
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