Karsan autonomous bus involved in Gothenburg tram collision. "Incident appears not related to the autonomous driving system," says Karsan - Sustainable Bus

A Karsan autonomous electric bus in Gothenburg, Sweden, collided with a tram on May 25. The crash happened about one hour after the bus started carrying paying passengers in a year-long autonomous public transport trial. The tram struck the bus from behind during normal traffic operations. No injuries were reported. A public transport spokesperson said the bus braked and was then hit by the tram. The vehicle operated with a safety driver onboard who could take control if needed. The Autonomous e-ATAK is described as a Level-4 autonomous bus available in Europe, with deployments and trials across Norway, Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands, and additional projects planned in other cities.

"The incident occurred around one hour after the autonomous Karsan e-ATAK bus began carrying paying passengers as part of a year-long autonomous public transport trial in Gothenburg. Reuters reported that the bus was struck from behind by a tram during traffic operations. No injuries were recorded in the collision. Patrik Chi, spokesperson for public transport organizer Vasttrafik, told Reuters that "the bus braked and was hit by the tram"."

"The Gothenburg autonomous transport trial includes a safety driver on board the vehicle, ready to take control if required. The model is know for being the only Level-4 autonomous bus available today on the European market. Earlier this year Norwegian authority approved driverless Karsan e-Atak operation without safety driver."

"The project started with the electric Atak platform, launched in 2019. The Turkish manufacturer announced in 2020 it was working on a Level-4 automated version of the vehicle in partnership with Adastec. The model was subsequently introduced as the Autonomous e-Atak and began real-world deployments in Europe in 2022, when it entered service in Stavanger, Norway, becoming the first full-size autonomous bus operating on a public transport route in the continent."

"Back to Gothenburg's facts, in a statement released following the incident, Karsan said its Autonomous e-ATAK vehicle "sustained damage as a result of contact from a tram approaching from behind during traffic flow". The Turkish manufacturer stated that preliminary technical evaluations"

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