Gothenburg's self-driving bus trammed on day one

A new self-driving bus service in the Swedish city of Gothenburg got off to a rough start this week when one of its vehicles was hit by a tram on its second passenger-carrying trip. The autonomous bus, running on route 169 between Gothenburg Central Station and Liseberg, opened to passengers on May 25. It was struck from behind shortly after setting off on its second run, resulting in damage to both vehicles and the bus enduring the ignominy of being towed away. According to reports, the bus braked and was rear-ended by the tram. A spokesperson for Vasttrafik, the bus operator, told The Register: "A small number of passengers were on board. No one was seriously injured, and that is the most important outcome. Both the bus and the tram sustained minor damage." The autonomous bus project began in 2024, and trials were scheduled to conclude by 2027 [PDF]. At present, a driver is still required, although the controls are not touched during normal operation. However, someone else driving into it is a whole different challenge. On the rear of the Karsan bus was the warning "Keep your distance! The bus can brake sharply!" but that did not appear to deter the tram. As a rule of thumb, trams tend to have the right of way since they cannot swerve around a suddenly slowing vehicle. Self-driving public transport remains a challenge. Elon Musk's Cybercab is beginning to trundle onto the streets after a 2024 announcement, and Waymo's taxis have been rolling around cities such as San Francisco for a few years now, although it yanked thousands of vehicles off the road over fears they might drive headlong into floods on high-speed roads. The UK's first registered autonomous bus route was unveiled in 2023. However, operators reportedly decided to end the service in 2025 due to a lack of passengers. The service ran over a 14-mile journey in Scotland and also required drivers on board. As for Gothenburg, the Vasttrafik spokesperson told El Reg: "We are now conducting a thorough analysis of the incident together with relevant parties to better understand what happened as soon as possible." One of the goals of the project was to "gather and share knowledge about how autonomous mobility works in practice." To which the answer, at least initially, appears to be: "Great! Until a tram enters the chat." (R)