Saxon innovation project ABSOLUT enters the next test phase

At a press conference held on 28th February, the ABSOLUT and e-Crafter project teams gave the attending journalists an insight into what the consortium has achieved to date. “ABSOLUT has reached a technological milestone which is set to resonate far beyond the scope of the project itself and will enable Germany to take another step forward on the important future topic of automated driving,” said Christian Liebich, Division Manager at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Ines Fröhlich, State Secretary at the Saxon State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Transport, expressed similar delight and is already looking forward to the mobility of the future: “Through the intelligent matching of supply and demand, and with needs-based on-demand services available 24/7, we can for the first time witness a form of public mobility which is more strongly geared to individual needs than ever before,” she said. She is convinced that, especially in urban fringe areas, individualized local public transport services which are able to operate autonomously will lend a major boost to the attractiveness of public transport as a whole. The Head of the City Department for Urban Development and Construction of the City of Leipzig, Thomas Dienberg, agrees, and expects the project to “contribute significantly to implementation of the mobility strategy through its positive effects for the performance capabilities of local public transport, for road safety and for climate protection.” Ronald Juhrs, our Managing Director for Technology and Operations, emphasized that autonomous driving is already firmly anchored in our strategic plan for the period to 2030. “Autonomous offers will complement our existing local public transport services in optimum fashion, especially on the outskirts of the city. They will bring many new passengers to our bus and tram services, and thus establish even better links between the peripheral areas and the city center,” he explained.

Impressions from the press conference can be found here.