Remote Driving Partnership Launching On-Demand Public Transportation Service

Remote driving company Vay and ride-pooling company ioki are teaming to launch what they say is the world’s first remote, on-demand public transport service. 

The companies describe the initiative as a “powerful digital solution to driver shortages in the public transport sector” set to initially launch in Europe.

The concept features publicly available cars operated by remote drivers, which users can request via an app. Ioki’s platform calculates the best route, picking up other riders along the way to enable a more sustainable, ride-sharing alternative.

The partners say the service is something of a stepping stone to fully autonomous public transport options, though it maintains human-in-the-loop for safety precautions at this stage.

"I am convinced that teledriving is a promising key technology to gradually introduce driverless public transportation,” said Michael Barillère-Scholz, ioki’s CEO.  “With Vay, we have a strong partner who shares our vision of driverless mobility integrated into everyday life. 

“We want to make a positive and short-term contribution to the currently acute driver shortage issues in Germany and Europe by using more digitization and technology in public transport.” 

“With our unique door-to-door mobility service enabled by our teledrive technology we want to create an affordable and convenient alternative for transportation in metropolitan areas,” said Fabrizio Scelsi, Vay’s CTO. “ioki's innovative platform solution accelerates the introduction of our sustainable and efficient mobility services for public transport. Together, we work towards our goal of significantly reducing the number of privately owned cars in cities.” 

Related:New Remote Driving Service Launches in the US

The first pilot projects could start next year.