Update on Testing and Deployment of Autonomous Vehicles in Public Transport Sector

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether he can provide an update on how many Autonomous Vehicles (AV) have passed Milestone 1 and 2 tests respectively; and (b) whether AV development in Singapore is progressing as planned, particularly for autonomous public transport.

Mr Speaker, as of 27 January 2023, 43 autonomous vehicles, or AVs, have passed the Land Transport Authority (LTA)'s Milestone 1 test, and one AV has passed LTA's Milestone 2 test.

The AV trials in Singapore which we had facilitated since 2014 have yielded important capability development in testing and certification, and an understanding of the operational requirements for the safe deployment of AVs alongside conventional motor vehicles. These trials have also informed us that the capabilities would need to be further developed for local operating conditions, particularly in public transport, before larger-scale deployment on our roads can be achieved. These include the perception and sensing capabilities of AVs under complex scenarios in our urban environment and during inclement weather conditions.

AV companies would, therefore, have to undertake further research and development and trials. LTA will continue to facilitate these efforts.

Sir, I thank the Senior Minister of State for his reply. I have two supplementary questions. I first declare my interest as the executive secretary of the National Transport Workers' Union (NTWU).

I think, globally, we have started seeing commercial trials of AVs ferrying passengers. However, there remains significant concerns over safety risks, especially in high-density environments, such as that in Singapore. As the Government reviews its AV plans, will the Ministry consider a deliberate slowing down of our deployment timelines, especially for our public transport, until such time when the technology is more mature and safer?

I would also like to ask if the Ministry can work closely with the unions to prepare and transit our workers in the public transport sector, such as bus captains, taxi drivers, private hire vehicle drivers, in line with the AV deployment timeline. I think we should provide our unions and our workers sufficient time to adjust and to adapt to a driverless world.

Mr Speaker, the deployment of AVs in Singapore would depend on a few factors. First, of course, is the progress of the AV technology and, importantly, to be able to meet safety standards and operational requirements. There is also the commercial viability perspective. And then, finally, there is public acceptance, which is also very important in order for larger-scale deployment.

Our assessment is that it will take some time to achieve this larger-scale deployment in Singapore for the reasons that I have mentioned in my main reply, and I think Mr Melvin Yong also mentioned some of these. The impact of AV deployment, therefore, would be gradual. We have time to continue to work closely with the commercial operators, the researchers and also, with our unions and our workers.

So, I would not want to characterise this as a deliberate slowing down, but neither are we trying to intentionally speed it up. We will let the technology and the commercial viability, and also, the awareness and public acceptance, make progress steadily. But if we are able to have some breakthroughs, I think that will be beneficial.

With regard to the collaborations on preparing our workers for this transition, I think that is an extremely important area. Allow me, Mr Speaker, just to share briefly. For the bus sector, for example, we have been working closely with the National Transport Workers' Union (NTWU) and also, our public transport operators to develop a skills and training roadmap. The roadmap will identify emerging skills and what are some of the new job roles arising from the deployment of autonomous technologies, and what are the courses and on-the-job training that we can provide to our workers.

LTA will also work closely with industry players and with SkillsFuture Singapore to update the existing skills framework to ensure relevance for the bus workforce. For the point-to-point (P2P) sector, from March 2022, the training curriculum for the Taxi Driver's Vocational Licence (TDVL) and Private Hire Car Driver’s Vocational Licence (PDVL) have been updated to help taxi and private hire car drivers adapt to technological advancements, such as the emergence of AVs and the likelihood of jobs that will evolve arising from this trend.