This autonomous bus was involved in an accident in GothenburgImage: AdastecTest operations had been running in Gothenburg for months before passengers were finally allowed to board the autonomous bus on route 169 through the Gårda district on Monday morning. However, the launch ended abruptly: after just one hour in service, the self-driving Karsan e-ATAK electric bus collided with a tram.According to the public transport operator Västtrafik, the self-driving bus, which had a safety driver on board, braked at Kapellplatsen when a tram approaching from behind crashed into it. “There were no injuries, neither in the bus nor in the tram,” said Västtrafik spokesperson Patrik Chi. Due to the accident, the affected street was completely closed in both directions. After around two hours, Västtrafik announced that traffic had resumed.It remains unclear whether the journey was not only the first but also the last passenger service for the autonomous bus in Gothenburg. The cause of the accident has not yet been determined. “It is naturally very unfortunate that this happened, and we are relieved that no one was injured. We will now conduct a thorough analysis of the incident,” said Chi.In an initial statement, bus manufacturer Karsan criticised what it described as an incomplete and misleading public perception of the incident. According to the company’s initial technical assessments, the autonomous driving system functioned as intended throughout the entire process. Karsan stated that the autonomous e-ATAK detected surrounding obstacles and continued operating within the defined safety protocols, while the tram approaching from behind failed to maintain a sufficient distance and collided with the vehicle.“Based on initial findings, the incident appears to be a traffic-related event occurring within the flow of urban traffic, rather than an issue related to the autonomous driving system,” Karsan said. Incidentally, the autonomous driving system of the e-ATAK is not developed by Karsan itself but by technology partner Adastec. It combines perception, localisation, and planning modules using LiDAR, radar, and cameras to make reliable real-time decisions.The incident is significant from two perspectives: an identical bus is currently being tested by Üstra in the Albus project near Hanover, Germany. All trips for this week have been cancelled there, though it remains unclear whether this is directly related to the incident in Gothenburg. Additionally, the Karsan e-ATAK has been in use in the Norwegian city of Stavanger since 2022. Norway’s road traffic authority, Statens Vegvesen, recently approved the autonomous e-bus to operate regularly within the region’s public transport network, even without a safety driver on board.reuters.com, linkedin.com (Statement Karsan)
