On Thursday, October 2, a consortium comprised of BYD, MKX Technologies and Zhidao Network Technology was awarded a contract with Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) for autonomous buses to start driverless public operation in the second half of 2026. BYD currently has over 300 electric buses BYD in operation or on order in Singapore. The initial pilot phase will add 6 autonomous vehicles alongside existing buses on the 191 and 400 lines, with potential to add another 14 buses in the trial phase. However, this could increase rapidly, with the LTA planning to have 100-150 autonomous vehicles on the road. As CNA reports:"This phased approach enables LTA to progressively scale up the deployment of autonomous buses, while ensuring bus operations remain reliable and safe… AV buses will complement existing buses, allowing us to maintain routes with lower ridership or introduce new services that are hitherto difficult to introduce due to manpower constraint."
