The driverless shuttle bus travels on its route in Bad Birnbach, southern Germany, on Nov. 9, 2017. Germany's state-owned rail company Deutsche Bahn has launched the first driverless shuttle bus to transport passengers in spa town, Bad Birnbach in Bavaria. The six-seat electric vehicle EZ10, developed by a French company, commutes in the spa town connecting the town center and the thermal bath in a 700-meter route. The bus automatically comes to a stop whenever obstacles are detected by sensors. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
GENEVA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Many Swiss are uneasy about taking to the streets in driverless cars, but elderly people who do work on public transport express an interest in them, a Swiss study showed Wednesday.
"Use of Automated Vehicles in Everyday Life -- Potential Applications and Effects in Switzerland" is the first study to examine the attitude of the population towards such futuristic means of mobility.
A total of 653 households in French- and German-speaking Switzerland were questioned, the Swiss Telecommunication Association, which commissioned the study, said on Wednesday.
Consultants EBP Switzerland carried out the study, saying that automated driving "introduces numerous opportunities for cities and cantons, including the more efficient use of available parking spaces, better use of road capacity."
It also offers enhanced traffic control, platforms for combining various public and private transportation services and improved access to transportation networks and destinations.
Automated cars (where the driver can intervene if necessary) enjoy wide acceptance among the Swiss public, the study found.
However, only a quarter of respondents thought autonomous vehicles, or those that don't need a driver, made sense, although this figure is still an increase on previous years.
Elderly people -- who would remain mobile -- could benefit most from autonomous cars, respondents said.
However, almost seven out of ten people thought such cars would result in additional traffic and congestion, since the vehicles could for example drop a person off at a station and then return home empty.
On the other hand, 56 percent of respondents thought automated cars could optimize traffic management and thus reduce jams.
The authors said that that Switzerland could play a pioneering role in the management of automated vehicles and public transportation.
Switzerland already has experience of driverless vehicles.
In October, the Swiss city of Sion said it planned to expand its pioneering autonomous bus service, doubling the length of its route to the train station and extending the offer to the end of 2018.
