The city of Trikala, central Greece, will be the first European city to host the automated buses that operate without a driver. Trikala won first place in the European program for automated road transport systems, CityMobil2, which is co-financed by the EU and the Greek state. Trikala stood out from 12 European cities and will be the first of the 5 municipalities to implement the automated road transport system.
The special vehicles will appear in the streets of Trikala before the end of 2014. The vehicles have a capacity of 4, 12 or 15 passengers, they will circulate on the road and not on rails with a maximum speed of 20 km. They will be fully automated operating with sensors.
It is estimated that the program will be launched before the end of November. The remaining European cities that will take part in CityMobil2 are, Milan (Italy), Leon (Spain), La Rochelle (France) and Vantaa (Finland). The Greek Ministry of Transport is aiming to implement the program in Athens. These vehicles are ideal for the historic centers of big cities while scientists claim that they can lead to a reduction in the use of cars in the European capitals.
The city of Trikala was nominated as one of the 21 most intelligent cities in the world by the Intelligent Community Forum for three consecutive years (2009, 2010, 2011).
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