The Ministry of Transport has partnered with Mowsalat (Karwa) and Qatar Foundation to test the functioning of an autonomous minibus at the Qatar Foundation campus. The self-driving vehicle testing is a part of the Ministry’s goal to improve mobility and transportation services within Qatar.

The minibus is set to be tested on January 2, 2022, and the trial phase will continue for the next 10 days within Education City. The Level 4 autonomous vehicle is expected to traverse the prescribed route between Qatar National Library metro station, Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar, Texas A&M University-Qatar, Qatar National Library (QNL), and Northwestern University in Qatar.

The self-driving minibus will cover the 3.2 km stretch at a speed of 25 km/hr, without any driver. During the testing, no passengers will be on board too.

The vehicle has zero carbon emissions and is equipped with lidars, radars, and advanced camera setups. This eliminates the need for a driver on board as the mechanisms help the bus recognize its surroundings and drive efficiently. However, Mowsalat assures that there will be a Safety Operator always on board during the testing phase to control the bus during an emergency.

The rollout of the autonomous vehicle is in sync with the Ministry’s effort to add to Qatar National Vision 2030’s goals and policies. Testing out the minibus is to learn from the knowledge and experience of self-driving vehicles in a real-world environment.

The partnership between the Ministry and Mowsalat is expected to continue to provide the best practices in mobility and improving emission-free modes of transport for public use.

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Cover Image & Source Credit : Peninsula