Meet ERICA, the first driverless bus in Catalonia

Driverless buses have arrived in Catalonia. Well, one in particular, and she even has a name: ERICA, the first of her kind for public transport in the country.

The name is an acronym, standing for Electric, Revolutionary, Intelligent, the equivalent of 'Community' ('Compartit' or 'Shared' in Catalan) and, finally, Amicable.

The last word was chosen with particular care, said the general director of AMTU (the Association of Municipalities for the Mobility and Urban Transport), Joan Prat i Trapé.

The driver becomes helper

While there are no drivers on the bus, he explained, that doesn't mean passengers will be alone. The person behind the wheel will then become more like a tour guide, like a helper, keeping the sociable aspect of the bus alive, said Prat.

A driverless bus not only frees up the hands, but reduces the possibility of accidents, furthers explained the AMTU general director. "We estimate that 90% [of accidents] are caused by human error," stated Prat, "and we're sure that autonomous buses will eliminate the risk."

Sensors, GPS systems, cameras, and backup manual system

The ERICA bus uses three sensors to guide it down the street, avoiding any possible obstacles on the journey. Fitted with a GPS System accurate down to 2 centimeters, the bus also uses cameras as guidance. There is also always the option to switch to manual.

Traveling at 18km per hour, ERICA is eco-friendly and powered by lithium batteries, which give it power for 14 hours. It's also cozier than most buses – it can fit 11 passengers and 1 conductor, with 6 sitting and 6 standing.

Two years to change

ERICA is currently being shown around Catalonia in a traveling roadshow, which runs from September 7 to October 28. Eight towns are included in the tour: Sant Cugat del Vallès, Terrassa, Sabadell, Girona, El Vendrell, Reus, Martorell, and Vic.

Currently, the bus can only do routes of up to 500 meters as per regulations, and trying it out is free of charge. However, fully-functional driverless methods of transport are already being used in places such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and more.

In the future, Joan Prat i Trapé explained that one use for buses like ERICA could be to transport passengers through a park, or in a neighborhood, or any other pedestrian areas without cars. Driverless buses haven't been implemented in Catalonia yet because the law does not yet allow it. This is something which experts, however, expect will change by the year 2020.