UK tech company Delphi rolls out driverless taxis in Singapore

It will transition into operational service by 2022.

Robot taxis may soon be on the horizon for Singapore, as the Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) has tapped UK-based tech company Delphi to trial driverless taxis in the city-state.

According to Delphi's media release, the Singapore pilot program will last for three years, with plans to transition into an operational service by 2022 timeframe.

Delphi will provide the autonomous vehicles, as well as develop a cloud-based mobility-on-demand (AMoD) suite. The company will trial the "urban, point-to-point, low-speed, autonomous, mobility-on-demand service" in Singapore's Autonomous Vehicles Test Bed in one-north, a business park in the city-states western area.

Delphi's AMoD development program and autonomous vehicle demonstration is in line with the Singapore Autonomous Vehicle Initiative (SAVI) established in 2014 to oversee and manage autonomous vehicle (AV) research and test-bedding. SAVI also looks to develop applications and solutions by industry partners and stakeholders.

"Of particular interest to the Singapore LTA is the potential for automated driving solutions to make it easier for commuters transiting the ‘first mile’ and ‘last mile’ between a mass transit station and their home or workplace. By addressing this need, the usage of the mass transit systems could increase; reducing overall traffic congestion and vehicle emissions," Delphi stated.