In Turin you can already get on board AuToMove, the first self-driving shuttle active on the city’s streets. The project is part of the Living Lab ToMove program, dedicated to experimenting with smart and sustainable mobility solutions, and represents an important step in the path towards the digitization of urban transport.
The service, free and bookable through the Wetaxi app, covers a route of about three kilometers that connects Corso Tortona, Corso Regina Margherita and Lungo Dora Siena, with terminus at the Luigi Einaudi Campus of the University of Turin and five total stops. It operates weekdays from 11:00 to 16:30 and can carry up to eight passengers at a time.
The official presentation was attended by Mayor Stefano Lo Russo and Councillor for Innovation and Mobility Chiara Foglietta, who underlined: “AuToMove represents an important step for Turin on the path towards more innovative and sustainable mobility. Being among the first cities in Italy to experiment with an autonomous roadside service allows us to explore new solutions capable of concretely improving people’s daily lives. This project demonstrates how technology can help make our movements safer, more efficient and citizen-friendly”.
Supplied by the New Zealand company Ohmio and operationally managed by GTT, the shuttle is an SAE level 4 electric vehicle, capable of interacting with urban infrastructure thanks to the V2X technology developed by 5T. Vehicle-to-infrastructure communication enables, for example, the
The experimentation, co-financed by the Department for Digital Transformation as part of the PNRR, involves a broad public-private partnership: in addition to the City of Turin, GTT and 5T, the Polytechnic University of Turin, the University of Turin, the LINKS Foundation and the Piedmont Innova Foundation are participating.
Each of the partners contributes with targeted expertise: GTT manages the service, 5T coordinates the technological infrastructure, while the research institutions monitor technical and social aspects of the experimentation. Fondazione LINKS takes care of communication between the shuttle and the road network, the Politecnico tests pedestrian and cyclist detection systems, the University analyzes the behavior and acceptability of users and Fondazione Piemonte Innova, on the other hand, connects the project to the ecosystem of regional companies and research centers to encourage new collaborations.
The technological partners WeTechnology and Padam Mobility also contribute to the service, responsible for the integration of the booking system and the management of the “orchestrator module” of the service, necessary for the operation of autonomous transport on demand.
In addition to offering an innovative mobility experience, AuToMove bequeaths the city a digital infrastructure and useful skills for future applications. The data collected will be used to define guidelines and regulatory models for the adoption of autonomous vehicles in local public transport.
With this experimentation, Turin confirms its role as an avant-garde urban laboratory, where technology and sustainability meet to build a safer, more connected and citizen-friendly mobility.
