- The consortium of six major mobility players – Alstom, EasyMile, Equans, Keolis, Renault Group and StatInf – is preparing the launch of a new, zero-emission public transport service at Level 4 (without an on-board supervizor) of autonomous driving.
- A fleet of 6-meter driverless electric mini buses will become part of the Châteauroux Métropole public transportation network in 2026.
- Awarded as a winner of the France 2030 call for projects on “Automated road mobility, connected and low-carbon service infrastructures“, the pilot project has received support from the French Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion as well as from Bpifrance.
The first deployment of a Level 4 autonomous mobility service on this scale, this project, known as Mach2, marks a decisive step in the development of automated public transport in France, and in Europe. The service will be operational from 2026 in the city center of Châteauroux (in the department of Indre), integrated into the city’s “Horizon” bus network, and operated by Keolis.
The consortium brings together French leaders in mobility, each contributing its own area of expertize: Renault Group for the robotized electric minibus platform, EasyMile for the autonomous driving system, StatInf for the validation of critical software elements, Equans for the Computer Aided Dispatch and Automatic Vehicle Location (CAD/AVL) system, Alstom for the connected safety infrastructure and communication protocols, and Keolis for the operation and maintenance of these new public transport services.
A technological and industrial breakthrough for a relevant service
This project addresses all aspects of autonomous mobility, to provide a real public transport service and strengthen France’s leadership in this future market:
the vehicle developed will be significantly larger and faster than the autonomous shuttles deployed today.
The project also addresses the complex issue of interactions with priority vehicles, and that of connection with infrastructure such as traffic lights. The concept of supervisionwill be rethought in detail to enable a single supervisor to control a fleet of vehicles and guarantee the soundness of the economic equation for this new type of transport.
The project also addresses the complex issue of interaction with emergency vehicles and connection with traffic light infrastructures. The supervision concept will be rethought in detail to allow a single supervisor to control a fleet of vehicles and guarantee the viability of the economic model for this new type of transport.
All of these elements will be used to demonstrate compliance with the strictest safety standards at the French and European levels.
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