“Does it brake well? “Asks Monique, not very reassured and yet in a hurry to board the autonomous shuttle inaugurated on July 13 and put into service from Monday July 18 between Mézières-en-Brenne and Martizay (Indre).
This vehicle lined with laser sensors and cameras serves as an experiment for a dozen laboratories, companies and state services overseen by the Gustave Eiffel University in Lyon. This national project, called ENA, for Experimentation of autonomous shuttles, received funding of 8 million euros, half of which by Ademe, the agency in charge of ecological transition. It is in this program that two shuttles from the Navya company in Villeurbanne (Rhône), in the Sophia Antipolis (Alpes-Maritimes) business area, are being tested until the end of the summer.
In Mézières, “on a 36 km route on public roads, so in contact with other road users, this is a world first. The United States, which also has mobility issues over large areas, is watching us, ”says Frédéric Mathis, president of Milla, a company from Meudon (Hauts-de-Seine), which manufactures passenger vehicles and goods and already operates shuttles in Nice and Vélizy (Yvelines) and soon in Auxerre (Yonne) and Saclay (Essonne).
Speed limited to 50 km/h
Here, it is a large Master Renault van with an electric motor, with a range of 130 to 150 km. At the rear, 7 spaced out seats are arranged on a platform. Thanks to a step, accessibility is ensured.
Soft start, the speed is limited to 50 km / h, even in a straight line on portions at 80 km / h. “The average commercial speed over the entire route is set at 30 km/h,” says Philippe Vezin, the academic who coordinates this research program. We imagine that some motorists will become impatient. “I won’t get into it, except perhaps to put it in the ditch”, cowardly Patrick, seated in the café, who also admits to complaining about the much more numerous tractors in this harvest period.
ENA is however a “solution for the future”, insists Sébastien Lalange, mayor of Paulnay, vice-president of the community of communes Cœur de Brenne.
Implementation until December
“Yes, it’s very useful, no doubt about it. As you get older, you don’t always want to take your car to run an errand or go to the doctor, ”says Christiane Pawlat, 72, a Parisian who came to settle in this corner of Berry when she retired. “The problem is that you have to stick to the schedules. We would prefer transport on demand,” adds Jean-Claude, her husband.
“We can’t see the driver, it’s a shame,” says Monique, completely reassured after her test drive. In fact, the driver, who is more of a driving supervisor since he does not touch the steering wheel, will be visible in a few days. After these test towers proposed to the inhabitants during the inauguration of this Wednesday, it was decided to remove the wall. “Human contact is vital,” admits a manager from the Isère company Berthelet, chosen to operate this autonomous shuttle.
Implementation until December, ENA is free. It will run every day of the week from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. to connect five municipalities. Via the tourist office, you can even book it to visit this corner of nature and its ponds where the rare pond turtle nests.