Six buses with no drivers will run from 2015 in the city of Trikala, the first of the five European cities in which the pilot project will be implemented for six months.

The automated buses with no drivers will run with sensors under the CityMobil2 pilot program, while according to Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Transportation and Networks Michalis Papadopoulos the aim of the Ministry is to use them in Athens, too.

These buses are expected to be launched at Trikala in 2015 and will have a capacity of 4, 12 or 15 passengers. The buses will run on the road and not on rails at up to 20 kilometers per hour speed.

However, Mr Papadopoulos speaking during a workshop on the EU legal framework for certifying automated transport systems in urban areas, said that in order to permit such vehicles running on European streets we need to promote the necessary legislative and regulatory adjustments and that is not ruled out for the future.

He also said that the Ministry of Transport considers the possibility of assigning temporary vehicle registration plates.

It should be noted that the CityMobil2 pilot project focuses on promoting the necessary laws and regulations that will allow the future use of such vehicles on European roads and the continuation of the CityMobil project.

The countries participating in the CityMobil2 pilot project is Greece (Trikala), Italy (Milan), Spain (Leon), France (La Rochelle) and Finland (Vantaa).