On Friday, Schiphol and KLM announced the second phase of the electric self-driving buses trial.

With the industry pushing to decarbonise, Royal Schiphol Group has set itself the target of a emission-free and autonomous ground operation by 2050 and KLM has tasked itself with achieving zero-emission ground handling by 2030. In the pursuit of these goals, Schiphol, KLM Cityhopper, and KLM Ground services have actioned the second phase of this innovative trial, looking at the vehicle’s effectiveness in a more complex setting.

The first phase tested two self-driving buses supplied by Ohmio which will now be used on a fixed, pre-programmed route between the terminal and the apron, testing their effectiveness in an environment with intense activity.

At the start of the trials, 89 per cent of employees who used the autonomous service said they would be willing to use it again. Jan Zekveld, Head of Innovation Schiphol touched on the importance of building trust with these new technologies:

“It’s great that we’ve been able to follow up on the trial with the self-driving buses so soon. We’re curious about the insights we’ll gain at this location, particularly because punctuality and safety is crucial on this route. We’re also curious how airline crew members experience self-driving transport. This will help to build trust in the technology and potentially facilitates future integration of other self-driving vehicles.”

Maarten Koopmans, Managing Director KLM Cityhopper said:

“I’m very enthusiastic about this trial and think it’s great that our crew can test this innovative, self-driving bus. KLC has always set the trend in implementing the latest technologies and this innovation also fits in perfectly with KLM’s aim to achieve emission-free ground handling by 2030.”

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