Holo becomes first company to operate autonomous vehicles in Denmark

Denmark (Urban Transport News): Holo has now been authorized to operate autonomous vehicles in five countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia and Denmark. The first autonomous pilot project on Danish roads has just been granted permission to roll out by the Danish Road Directorate.

The Minister of Transport, Benny Engelbrecht, has signed the permission that allows for the first autonomous pilot project in mixed traffic in Denmark. Aalborg Municipality is a project lead in the pilot project where two buses will connect the neighborhood Aalborg Øst and increase the mobility of citizens in the area.

Holo is the first and only company to obtain permission to operate autonomous vehicles in Denmark. Across sites, the company has transported more than 40,000 passengers autonomously over more than 25,000 km.

Peter Sorgenfrei, CEO of Holo sad:

It is a giant milestone we’ve reached today. It’s not the first time we implement autonomous vehicles in mixed traffic. But it’s the first time we are doing it in Denmark. As a Danish company, it is quite special to get an opportunity to show the benefits of autonomous solutions - in our home market.

Holo has already hired a team of operators to take care of daily operations in Aalborg Øst, and while they wait for the project to launch, they have gained hands-on experience being on the road in Holo’s other projects in the Nordic and Baltic region. As of now, they have worked more than 2,300 hours in and around Holo’s autonomous buses.

The next step is for Aalborg Municipality, Holo and bus manufacturer Navya to finalize and map the route as well as to conduct tests on-site. Speed, priority zones, bus stops and other regulations will be plotted into the bus’ virtual map and tested before launching operations with passengers.

Aalborg Municipality is a project lead pilot project. It covers a total of 21 km long route with 10 stops at Astrupstien, Aalborg Øst. The buses are initially manned with an operator from Holo to give the riders a pleasant experience with the new technology. The capacity of a bus is 11 passengers. The buses are electrical, autonomous and navigate using a range of sensors and LiDAR technology.

The buses are deployed with aims to increase internal mobility in the area, mobilizing citizens with limited mobility, linking the area to other public transport solutions etc.