The news is advanced by Transportes em Revista, adding that Viriato is a creation of TulaLabs, conceived to transport up to 24 passengers, some of them seated, others standing.
A 100% electric vehicle, the future public transport of the city of Viseu, whose mission will be to replace the current funicular, "charges in five minutes and has autonomy for 100 kilometers", explains, in statements to the magazine, the manager of Tula Labs, Jorge Hail.
A non-polluting vehicle, capable of reaching speeds of up to 40 km/h, the Viriato also stands out due to the fact that it reaches level 5 of autonomous driving, that is, the maximum level, which allows it to do without a driver, steering wheel or pedals, getting the driving handed over to an artificial intelligence system.
At the same time, the vehicle is accompanied by a management and monitoring system, which captures information on the position, speed and distance covered by each unit, in real time.
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“Similar vehicles already circulate in Switzerland without any problems”
Also according to Jorge Saraiva, “the technology used in this vehicle was developed nine years ago and similar vehicles have been circulating in Switzerland for three years without any problem”. In Viseu, the first autonomous public transport to circulate in the country will operate "on a segregated road, because that is what the legislation allows, where you will meet other cars only at intersections with traffic lights". Furthermore, “there will be pedestrians on this road”.As for the risks arising from a means of transport like this, the same person in charge explains that “there are always risks, but they are controlled. There is a detection system”. Ensuring that “the risk is the same as for a vehicle with a driver”.
Expected start-up in early 2019
The Municipality of Viseu, on the other hand, recalls that it is “a non-polluting, autonomous, permanently available public transport which, in addition to the benefits for the environment, will generate savings for the municipality, replacing the funicular. And since it's silent, you'll be able to walk at night.”
There is still no set date to start operating, although forecasts point to it being operational in early 2019, Viriato should result in costs in the order of 13 thousand euros per month for the municipality, but also savings of around 80,000 a year.