Rueil-Malmaison starts autonomous shuttle trial on the open road

Connecting the railway station and the business district

On 2 February Rueil-Malmaison gave the start to an exciting experiment in the field of sustainable mobility. For a period of six to twelve months, the French city will be testing an autonomous electric vehicle on the open road.

As part of the trial, two shuttles will be taking private employees from the railway station to the city’s business district. If it is deemed successful, the route may open to more users.

Rueil explores innovative and sustainable mobility alternatives

Rueil-Malmaison, Paris’ wealthiest suburb, together with Arval, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, gave the start to an exciting partnership for emissions-free smart mobility yesterday. Patrick Ollier, Mayor of the city and President of the Metropolis of Greater Paris, personally attended the event.

Starting from February, for a period of up to one year, two EVAA shuttles (where EVAA stands for Experimentation of autonomous vehicles of Arval), will be exploring the possibilities of opening a real autonomous shuttle route. The aim of the experiment is to make car traffic more fluid and to improve the RER service (the regional express railway network) to businesses in the area.

Each of the two vehicles participating in the trial will be transporting up to 12 Arval employees from the Mobipôle station to the company site, located in the Rueil-sur-Seine business district. Albeit the shuttle will be operating autonomously, an operator will be present at all times to welcome passengers and ensure optimal security.

The shuttle is practically capable to move in any weather conditions (from -15 to 45 degrees Celsius), with a maximum speed of 20 kilometres per hour. With an automated and integrated electric access ramp, it can also accommodate people with disabilities.

The city will be contributing a total of 180 thousand euros to the experiment, not counting the possible road works. Part of the funds come from the Metropolitan Investment Fund (FIM).

For their part, RATP (the Autonomous Parisian Transportation Administration) will provide know-how and operate the shuttles daily. The shuttle manufacturer Easymile will supervise their technical aspects.

Depending on the outcome of the experiment, the City will explore the possibility of developing the use of the autonomous shuttle on its territory.