Driverless cabs to hit Perth roads in 2019

Perth residents will have the ability to summon driverless taxis via their mobile phones from as early as next year, with the arrival of a new autonomous taxi fleet.

The Royal Automotive Club of Western Australia has announced it has landed the first of its $490,000 'Intellicars' with support from the WA state government.

Under the trial, members of the public will eventually have access to up to three of the taxis built by French autonomous car manufacturer Navya.

The taxi rollout follows existing trials of the RAC Intellibus in Perth for the past three years. Perth is one of three cities globally to be included in the taxi rollout – alongside Paris and another undisclosed location in the US.

Stakeholders will begin testing the taxis on closed roads this week, with a view to introducing the technology to public roads next year.

Each taxi seats six people and is classed as possessing “Level 4” autonomy: self-driving but with capability for human input. The French-built taxis use three LiDAR sensors, six cameras and four radars.

Drive is sent via a 25kW electric motor, which sources charge from an 80-volt battery.

The taxis have a maximum operating speed of 90km/h, with a recommended operating speed of 20 to 50km/h. It is understood they will be initially deployed with an RAC stakeholder in the driver’s seat.

“Australia is a strategic place to test, showcase and deploy new technologies in the region,” said Navya chief executive CEO Christophe Sapet.

RAC chief Terry Agnew said the trial would help shape future laws around accommodating driverless vehicles in Australia. The National Transport Commission is said to be evaluating the fineprint.

“Having a robust understanding of the technology and what it means for WA will help develop a roadmap for the safe transition to our driverless future,” Agnew said.

“How we move around is rapidly evolving and being able to test emerging vehicle technologies right here in WA will help us adapt to these changes in the safest way possible.

“Human error is the cause of the vast majority of road deaths and serious injuries, so if we can help WA and Australia safely transition to driverless vehicles sooner, hundreds of Australian lives could be saved."