Steering Is Optional

The driverless world may not be one with fewer cars or less traffic.

- Christopher Tan

POLICYMAKERS in Singapore have clearly fallen head over heels with the idea of vehicles moving around autonomously. That is, robotic buses, trucks and cars, which are able to complete journey after journey without the need for a human driver.

In the last five years, no fewer than half a dozen test-beds have been rolled out.

Universities, research agencies such as A*Star, Nutonomy (a spin-off from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and National University of Singapore), and various other joint research projects between Land Transport Authority and ST Kinetics or PSA with the Transport Ministry are falling over themselves to come up with the first applicable solution that does away with the need for drivers.

It is not difficult to understand this feverish pursuit to go driverless. Singapore has long had a tough time getting enough workers to fill jobs such as bus or truck driving. We don’t even have enough taxi-drivers (although there is apparently no shortage of private-hire drivers).

Also, human drivers, even if you can find enough of them, can be a contentious lot. Especially if they feel they are not compensated adequately. Look no further than the SMRT bus-driver strike of 2012 as an example.

Singapore also feels it has to be on the cusp of any new technology. Even if it has to reinvent the wheel, it wants that wheel to have some local input. Certainly, autonomous vehicles are still a fairly young concept. Even the industry big boys have not ironed out all the kinks.