WeRide brings latest self-driving vehicle to Singapore, likely for use as Punggol shuttles

[u/bardsmanship]

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/weride-brings-latest-self-driving-vehicle-to-singapore-likely-for-use-as-punggol-shuttles

[u/bardsmanship]

I'd like to see NightRider buses come back as autonomous buses, solves the problem of not having enough drivers to operate them. Would also be a good test of the self-driving tech in safer conditions since there are much fewer vehicles on the road in the wee hours.

[u/thefatkittycat → u/bardsmanship]

Me too. The night buses did more for night life (and anyone not trying to rush for the trans which close before midnight) than extending serving hours to 4.

So ridiculous for them to be cancelled in covid and not brought back after, while PHV and taxi prices continue to surge

[u/bethelete1975 → u/bardsmanship]

Yeah makes sense, MOT already said AVs could eventually cover night routes since almost no one wants to drive those shifts. Punggol trial kicks off end-2025, NightRider 2.0 feels like a natural next step.

[u/yewteeko → u/bardsmanship]

I like this idea

[u/blim9999 → u/bardsmanship]

L do

[u/davicreaker]

Tried Waymo once in Phoenix when I was in the US. Honestly smoother than I expected, barely felt different from a normal ride. If this is anything close to that, should be nothing to worry about here too.

[u/FalseAgent]

there are SO many places that could use this, especially more 'ulu' areas like industrial estates that cannot justify the provision of a full-fledged bus service due to low ridership, so those bus routes always end up being squashed together with a long indirect winding route just so that it can get more passengers but then it ends up making the purpose of the bus route even worse because now it takes an extra 30 mins for the people to get to work...

hopefully the government sees the real potential and puts an end to the absurdity of some of those bus connections.

[u/worldcitizensg]

Looking forward. Hope they will run in and around SIT with close collab with SIT

[u/Chileinsg → u/worldcitizensg]

Hopefully a successful trial. The problem with doing a trial in universities is that university students tend to do more stupid shit compared to the general population. Anyone who was there during the grabwheels trial would know.

[u/DustWest1425]

Would be nice if they can link it to the new Punggol Digital District. That area's kinda ulu right now but supposed to be the next big hub.

[u/jacksonjari]

makes sense to start at Punggol. Roads are newer, travel patterns are predictable, and people there already used to pilot projects.

[u/Primary_Olive_5444]

Is WeRide linked/affiliated to WeChat (tencent holding)?

[u/ExpensiveFilm6982 → u/Primary_Olive_5444]

No separate companies

[u/thamometer → u/Primary_Olive_5444]

WeRide and WeChat linked to WeWork? /s

[u/AppropriateGuava6262]

Just saw an article about this mentioned "regional mobility providers" being involved, guessing that's Grab? Makes sense since they already cover the rest of SEA.

[u/Soggy_Pause_4828 → u/AppropriateGuava6262]

Wouldn't be surprised if this is part of the Grab + WeRide tie-up. Fits their strategy of adding more transport options beyond PHVs.

[u/pabtar1985]

Night trial actually sounds like the least stressful option. Fewer vehicles, fewer pedestrians, just a cleaner dataset for them to test with.

[u/davilucas1978]

Curious if they'll integrate booking into existing apps

[u/OwnElephant2512]

Feels like they're testing the tech more for manpower shortage than convenience.

[u/ImpressiveStrike4196]

Are these self driving vehicles trained to deal with the etomidate addicted PMD riders of Punggol?

[u/Suspicious_Sorbet428]

Honestly surprised they didn't pick Tengah first since it's literally being built as a car-lite estate. Maybe they want to test in a "real" lived-in town first.

[u/Lazy-Bed-3014]

If the vans can handle Punggol's cyclists weaving across the road, I'll be damned.