Bus drivers union has issues with driverless technology
Posted December 2, 2015 8:47 am.
Last Updated December 2, 2015 9:07 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Imagine a bus rolling down your street with no one sitting behind the wheel. In fact, imagine there is no wheel at all.
A global transport company is reportedly pitching its driverless bus to TransLink this week, but the idea isn’t going over that well with people who would be vacating the drivers’ seats.
“Right now we just don’t see the viability of having a driverless bus in our system. We’re having a hard enough time focusing on whether or not we can get traffic lights to synchronize properly, never mind having a bus navigate the city without a driver,” says Nathan Woods, president of Unifor Local 111, which represents transit operators in Metro Vancouver.
Woods adds bus drivers do more than just transport you down the road.
“We’re not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but I do know the relationship drivers have with passengers is really the one that is probably the most forgiving.”
“When you are running late for a driverless bus, you are not going to get it, that bus is just going to keep going by. Then there are directions for tourists. We have an amazing tourist economy here, and having nobody to assist anybody getting around the city would be a loss. We are ambassadors, that’s part of our job.”
Woods believes there would also be security issues on unmanned buses. “There’s nobody there to monitor anything that’s going on on the bus. You’re really left unprotected.”
Driverless buses are being tested in Europe, with automated service being piloted in the Greek city of Trikala and France-based Transdev is reportedly offering to deliver one of its unmanned buses to Translink for trials.
TransLink declined an interview request from NEWS 1130, but in an emailed statement says, “We continue to monitor the development of automated vehicles. However, full automation is not considered a viable option for TransLink due to the essential role our bus operators provide with customer service, everything from calling for emergency first aid services to providing route and stop information. They also have specialized driving skills for complex and demanding situations.”
