It's one of the last places you'd expect for Canberra's first driverless bus trial: an aged care village in Belconnen.
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French company Easy Mile's autonomous bus will finish a month-long trial at IRT Group's Kangara Waters village on Friday.
![IRT Group CEO Patrick Reid and managing director Greg Giraud with one of their driverless buses being tested at IRT Kangara Waters in Belconnen. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong IRT Group CEO Patrick Reid and managing director Greg Giraud with one of their driverless buses being tested at IRT Kangara Waters in Belconnen. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/fdcx/doc75gf7olvt1l16cxvdhrl.jpg/r0_0_5449_3628_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Easy Mile Australia's managing director Greg Giraud said it had been a hit, with 40 to 60 passengers a day.
"To be honest I was surprised myself at the take-up. This is not necessarily the early adopter demographic that you could think of for emerging tech," Mr Giraud said.
The bus has been looping a one-kilometre stretch of road, only maxing out at speeds of about 10km/h.
Because of ACT government regulations and road laws, the bus still has a "chaperone" on board in case anything went wrong.
The village is dotted with bus stops at which the bus automatically stops. Passengers can get straight on or press a button to deploy a ramp if they need help.
![A driverless bus being tested at IRT Kangara Waters in Belconnen. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong A driverless bus being tested at IRT Kangara Waters in Belconnen. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/fdcx/doc75gf72lykab2jve8hrl.jpg/r0_484_5449_3560_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The bus uses 12 to 16 satellites to navigate and lasers to monitor for hazards, giving shrubs or bins on the footpath a wide berth and opting to stop in most scenarios - say when a car pulls out suddenly to try and squeeze past it.
In its small trial zone, the bus has had to navigate oncoming cars, preschoolers and, in true Canberra fashion, roundabouts.
Mr Giraud said the bus provided a meaningful service to the community.
"We believe at Easy Mile that mobility should be accessible and equitable for everyone," Mr Giraud said.
"You can feel really socially excluded if you don't have access to mobility, if it's difficult for you to go out."
IRT Group chief executive Patrick Reid said the bus trial hadn't just been about letting residents take a joy ride.
![IRT Group CEO Patrick Reid and managing director Greg Giraud with one of their driverless buses being tested at IRT Kangara Waters in Belconnen. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong IRT Group CEO Patrick Reid and managing director Greg Giraud with one of their driverless buses being tested at IRT Kangara Waters in Belconnen. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/fdcx/doc75gf85pdbc015w0nahrl.jpg/r0_666_5449_3633_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Mr Reid said they had brought in more services and activities to the village for residents to go to.
"We were looking at people who have lost mobility or were socially isolated ... trying to work out ways which were sustainable, to keep them connected to the community," he said.
"The thing people forget is how much people add to the culture of a community."
He said one resident who used a walker hadn't been around the site for almost eight months.
"He gets out every now and again but he's been quite assisted," Mr Reid said.
"Because he's using a walker and it's got a ramp, he can get out from his unit.
"He loves it because it's giving him back some independence."
![IRT Group CEO Patrick Reid and managing director Greg Giraud in one of their driverless buses being tested at IRT Kangara Waters in Belconnen. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong IRT Group CEO Patrick Reid and managing director Greg Giraud in one of their driverless buses being tested at IRT Kangara Waters in Belconnen. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/fdcx/doc75gf7lw80kg12wnsihrl.jpg/r0_0_5449_3633_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
While the ACT government has been extremely proactive, it's been ACT Policing's concerns about the bus being on shared roads that has limited the scope of the trial, Mr Reid said.
He said he wanted to use it to get residents to the Belconnen shops or the University of Canberra hospital across the road but the bus had been limited to the small, semi-private road at the village.
"Technology is far ahead of regulation," he said.
He said over three years, the bus would save the village money. The organisation currently maintains its own $120,000 bus with staff and volunteer drivers.
The village's bus was also quite narrow compared to the driverless bus's box-like design, requiring more time for people to get on.
Mr Reid said he expected regulation to catch up in two to three years to make the bus a fixture of the village.
"If we can do it here, we can do it everywhere," he said.