The autonomous electric bus, manufactured by the Turkish company Karsan, began scheduled passenger transport on May 25, 2026, on the temporarily established route 169 between Gustaf Adolfs Torg and Chalmers in downtown Gothenburg. The approximately 2.6-kilometer route was completed by the vehicle in 12\u201315 minutes, with a safety driver on board who could take control if necessary. Before commencing passenger service, the bus had been operating without passengers in the city since early March. The project was initially planned for a different route, but its traffic environment proved too complex for the applied autonomous technology, leading to the tests being relocated to the route between Gustaf Adolfs Torg and Chalmers.<\/p>\n
On the first day of passenger operation, however, just a few hours after the service began, the bus was traveling on Aschebergsgatan when it was rear-ended by a tram during a braking maneuver. No personal injuries occurred in the accident, but the bus was subsequently withdrawn from service, and an investigation was launched to uncover the circumstances of the incident.<\/p>\n The Transportstyrelsen emphasized that the revocation of the permit was not solely due to the accident. The authority’s decision was based on an evaluation of the submitted documentation, on-site inspections, technical assessments, and accident reports. The investigation revealed deficiencies during the approval process, particularly concerning the vehicle’s behavior in certain traffic situations and the intervention capabilities of the safety driver. Although several modifications were implemented to address these issues, the May accident demonstrated that the previously identified risks had not been eliminated.<\/p>\n Vy Buss’s internal investigation concluded that the accident occurred in a traffic situation previously identified in the company’s risk assessments. The investigation found that one of the most critical safety measures developed for such situations\u2014having the safety driver take control of the vehicle in critical traffic situations\u2014was not applied during the accident. According to Transportstyrelsen, this means that the conditions for safe experimental operation cannot currently be ensured, and thus traffic safety cannot be guaranteed.<\/p>\n Following the accident, Karsan also presented its standpoint. According to the manufacturer’s preliminary technical investigation, the autonomous driving system operated according to regulations throughout the event sequence, and the vehicle responded according to safety protocols, while the tram behind did not maintain a proper following distance, leading to the rear-end collision with the bus.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/magyarbusz.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026052513054_a098d0b820989c0161f5dcc3cfc8d44618bdbbdcc67fb56d46c825a90b97d92a.webp\")
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