MANILA — New Clark City (NCC) has recently launched what it said is the first autonomous vehicle or driverless bus in the Philippines.

This is under a demonstration program with Japanese company Zenmov and MC Metro Transport Operation Inc.

The driverless bus connects the different sports facilities at NCC and is free of charge for now. It caters mostly to athletes and employees in the area, but anyone can visit NCC and ride the driverless bus. A regular schedule of trips will soon be announced, likely in October.

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said aside from the driverless bus, Zenmov also has routes in other areas using electric vehicles. BCDA Vice President Randy Viacrusis said they want to make NCC a hub for sustainability and innovation.

“While it promotes efficiency for transport operations, it also helps the sustainability ng ating New Clark City… Promote po aming vision as the smart and innovative city, a unique feature and one of the kind dito sa ating country,” Viacrusis said.

Officials assured passengers the driverless bus is safe even if Filipinos are not yet used to seeing a vehicle without someone driving or operating it. But to make passengers comfortable, a safety officer or standby driver will be seating inside the vehicle during the trial period. The standby driver will use a video game controller to manually move the bus if an issue is encountered.

“The vehicle has several sensors, several cameras. Those sensors are used to detect if there will be objects kung meron man… Nakaprograma na ang mga distances, locations where to stop for the loading and unloading,” Viacrusis added.

Yukari Fuchi, the Business Development Specialist of Zenmov, said they are using Japanese technology with a smart mobility system. The driverless bus even slows down at pedestrian lanes and it also has a ramp for those on wheelchair.

“The vehicle stops when sensors detect any danger. It stops… Whenever they detect any barns or branches they immediately stop. They don’t go anywhere which is not programmed,” Fuchi said.

But will the driverless bus be compatible with urban areas like Metro Manila? Fuchi said that is possible, but more studies should be done as there are many factors to consider, including the throngs of people crossing the streets and motorcycles at both sides of cars.

“I really don’t know if we can quickly deploy that system to Manila… In the future, of course we are hoping and we are wishing,” she added.

But they hope to deploy this type of bus to other areas, particularly newly developed districts in the future. They also plan to add more driverless buses at NCC once passenger demand increases.