text: Self-driving technology provider Lilee Systems will launch the first revenue-generating self-driving bus in Tainan, Taiwan.
  Through the partnership with Tainan City Government, the self-driving bus will serve two business areas in Taiwan’s fifth-largest city.
  Lilee and Tainan City Government expect to start revenue services in the second half of 2020, with the intention of opening up more routes after safety and performance has been verified.
  The Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) system will mature based on rider feedback and ongoing technology development.
  Lilee conducted a proof-of-concept in 2018 and a proof-of-service in 2019 to demonstrate passenger satisfaction and reliable operations.
  Based on rail-control principles, the bus will run on fixed bus routes remotely managed by a cloud-based, centralized operations control center for an added layer of safety.
  Ming-Te Wang, director of bureau of transportation at Tainan City Government, said, “The autonomous bus project opens new opportunities for our city of ample technology resources to cultivate driverless research and development on artificial intelligence, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications, high-definition maps, robotics and remote control.”
  Jia-Ru Li, CEO of Lilee Systems, said, “Given the support of the Tainan City Government, this project will set an example of how governments can use autonomous rapid transit systems to solve public transportation challenges, such as increasing travel demands and driver shortage.”