Singapore to have ‘many’ autonomous vehicles in five years: Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow

SINGAPORE: Singaporeans can expect to see “many” autonomous vehicles (AVs) on the roads in five years, said Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow.

In a wide-ranging media interview on Jun 11, Mr Siow said there would be a “really big push” for AVs, which could be “potentially a game-changer” for public transport.

“I have no doubt, in five years, we will see many autonomous vehicles in Singapore,” said Mr Siow, who took on the acting minister role on May 23.

He said the government would probably start AV services with fixed routes in Housing Board estates, taking people to transport nodes first, and later to places of interest. 

“In the HDB towns that are further away from the city, I envision that AVs will be deployed fairly extensively within the next five years, and they will be … a very useful addition to the public transport network,” said Mr Siow.

His view was that the initial phase should be a “ramp-up”, before any “mass deployment” takes place.

Mr Siow, who is also Senior Minister of State for Finance, added that autonomous vehicles would “make a difference” and remove the “key constraint” of manpower when it comes to bus services.

“When you need to introduce a new bus service, you need to train a bus driver – that takes six months to a year, because you’ve got to learn how to drive the bus, you’ve got to hire and recruit the bus drivers, you have to buy the buses,” he said.

“You also have to build the depot and interchange space if there isn’t already. And so introducing bus services is not straightforward, it takes time.”