Governor Wilfried Haslauer convinced himself personally of the research work around the self-employed minibus of the Salzburg Research Forschungsgesellschaft during the test ride in Koppl. The previous test runs of the Digibus have shown opportunities and today’s limits of this new technology.

“Information and communication technologies are of great importance for Salzburg as a business location,” says governor Haslauer. “With the self-propelled Digibus from Salzburg Research, we are at the forefront of the topic of ‘autonomous driving’ in an international comparison. By testing new technologies at an early stage, we are in the process of shaping future mobility in the province of Salzburg itself.“ This type of passenger mobility can be of great importance for public transport in rural regions of Salzburg as well as the economy in the future.

Until this type of digitization actually finds its way into our everyday life, there is still a long way to go. “The previous test drives have shown that autonomous driving works, but also the current limits of this technology have been very clear”, emphasizes Siegfried Reich, Managing Director of Salzburg Research. “The cars of the manufacturers are still in a prototype stage. There are still many questions to be answered before automated minibuses can be operated without a driver 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.”

Findings from the Previous Test Rides

In the course of 201 test journeys, 746 people were already transported through the village of Koppl with the Digibus. The driving experience appealed to most of the passengers well to very good – correspondingly sure also felt a clear majority. So far, the quiet driving sounds, the technology itself and a good feeling of safety have been positive. The testing people were surprised by the strong, partly jerky braking when the self-propelled Digibus detected an obstacle. Particularly in rural areas, positioning and environmental recognition have also proved to be major challenges.

In the medium term, the Digibus is mainly available for applied research. The technology is currently being evaluated in the framework of test journeys, in order to systematically further develop them on the basis of the test results with partners. For interested passengers, test drives are always offered to explore acceptance and personal experiences.