Changhua County government has introduced a driverless minibus into service, which began taking members of the public last Wednesday as part of a trial run. Changhua County Commissioner Wei Ming-ku says it is one of the first trials of a driverless public transport system in Taiwan, adding that Changhua County has the ideal space for conducting test drives with a dedicated route set aside below the High Speed Rail (HSR) elevated railway. According to Wei, the driverless bus will operate from a central location at Changhua HSR station and connect Sijhou Gardens with Cingshueiyan Campsite (Cingshuei Forest) to provide a new highlight for visitors.

The imported driverless minibus, produced by French company EasyMile, was introduced into Taiwan by 7StarLake. In the last few days, both President Tsai Ing-wen and Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu have ridden on the bus. Last week from Wednesday through to Sunday, Changhua County Government opened the service to members of the public as part of a trial run on an approximately 1 km route.

The driverless bus, which can carry a load of up to 1000 kg, has six seats and can accommodate a maximum of 10 passengers. The bus travels at a speed of between 30-40 km per hour and can turn corners, stop and open and close its doors automatically.