Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Self-driving buses launched to ease the transportation of Pilgrims during Hajj
For the first time, the Transport General Authority (TGA) in Saudi Arabia is launching an experiment with self-driving shuttle buses to serve Hajj pilgrims during the Hajj season this year 1444 AH, in an effort to provide cutting-edge modern technologies that allows the transportation of 'human and environmentally friendly'. Follow Saudi Expatriates on Google News
This is a part of the authority's initiative to provide pilgrims with a variety of transportation options in Makkah.
- In order to drive without human intervention, within a predetermined path, self-driving buses use artificial intelligence technologies, cameras, and sensors all around it to gather data as they move and process it to make judgements. See Also : 5 miqats for the pilgrims
- One bus can accommodate 11 passengers, travels for 6 hours on a single charge, and reaches a speed of 30 km per hour in order to enhance the passenger experience and provide essential safety.
- The service seeks to make pilgrims' travel easier, assess how practical it would be to use these technologies during Hajj, and establish the prerequisites for their commercial operation in the ensuing years.
- In addition, Track No. 6 was chosen for the experiment because it is 4 km long and 11 m wide. Recommend : Hefty penalties for transporting pilgrims without Hajj permit
- This comes under the authority's responsibility to offer a variety of transportation options, adopt modern technology, and use smart transportation to assess each option's suitability and contribution to offering pilgrims a memorable transportation experience and guaranteeing their movement and performance of the rituals with ease and assurance.
