Alsa launches in Madrid first autonomous on-demand bus in Spain

As futuristic as it may seem, transport company Alsa has begun operating the first autonomous on-demand bus in Spain, within the Mercamadrid wholesale market in Madrid.

This 100 per cent electric, zero-emissions vehicle has a capacity for more than 30 passengers and operates only when passengers request its service along certain routes.

The bus is part of a circular route that will travel around the site, offering an innovative transport solution for its employees and visitors. Its launch is part of MobilitiesForEU, a European project led by Madrid city council, in collaboration with Alsa.

The vehicle incorporates some of the most advanced technologies: autonomous driving and zero emissions (CCAM), the result of two years of research by Alsa's engineering, innovation and digitalisation teams, in collaboration with the digital office of the city of Madrid and vehicle manufacturer Otokar.

The bus operates at Level 4+ autonomous driving, although it still has an operator on board to monitor its operation. The next step is to advance towards remote control and operation of the vehicle from a control centre located outside the depot in Madrid.

Alsa's new autonomous bus is a pioneer in Spain and internationally, as it allows for on-demand operation and autonomous driving. This way, users can activate and request the service during off-peak hours from their own mobile devices, via a specially designed app.

During the busiest hours at Mercamadrid, in the early morning between 4.30am and 9am, the vehicle will operate on a fixed schedule. Between 9am and 10.30am, it will be available to attend to requests on demand from users through a specific application.

This new technology is operating in Spain's largest logistics platform, a particularly demanding environment for testing autonomous driving, as it has 9,000 workers and is accessed daily by 15,000 vehicles and 20,000 people.

To use the service, passengers must scan a QR code located at the route's stops and download the Alsa Mobilities app. Users simply enter their origin and destination stops and the desired travel time.

Once this is done, the app confirms requests from all users and generates the optimal route, sending it to the vehicle. The bus receives the route and executes it at the requested time, driving autonomously from its parking spot.

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