国产诱惑福利

Renault is testing a new driverless mini-bus in Barcelona this week. The is running on a 2.2-km (1.3-mile) circular route with four stops in the center of the Spanish city. Adventurous commuters can jump on free of charge.

The French carmaker has teamed up with WeRide, a company specializing in autonomous vehicles, to make the prototype. It unveiled the driverless bus at the French Open venue last year, but now it is testing it on the open road in Barcelona. It also has testing projects going in Valence, France, and at the Zurich airport.

Pau Cugat was one of the curious to step aboard for a short ride along Passeig de Gracia boulevard.

鈥淲e just passed by a regular, combustion-engine city bus, and I thought, 鈥楲ook, there is a bus of the past, and right behind it you have the bus of the future,鈥欌�� the 18-year-old student said.

Driverless taxis and buses are being tried out by companies in other cities, from to .

But Renault鈥檚 initiative comes as Europe generally lags behind the and in driverless vehicle technology, where companies are fiercely competing to get ahead.

鈥淭he US is doing a lot of experimentation with autonomous vehicles, the same thing in China,鈥� Patrick Vergelas, head of Renault's autonomous mobility projects, told The Associated Press. 鈥淯ntil now we don鈥檛 have a lot in fact in Europe. And this is why we want to show that this works and prepare Europe to this route in public transportation.鈥�

The electric bus can run for 120 kilometers without a recharge and reach 40 kilometers per hour (25 mph). It is equipped with 10 cameras and eight lidars (sensor arrays) to help it navigate the streets filled with cars, motorbikes and pedestrians. The company says the bus is able to drive safely on a given course through a busy downtown like that of bustling Barcelona.

Carlos Santos, of Renault鈥檚 autonomous driving group, said that he has seen all types of reactions from riders.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a lot of behaviors of people. Some of them were smiling, (while) other people just start crying, taking photographs or even try to open the doors," Santos said before he insisted that the bus ride was a safe one.

Barcelona's city officials said that they have had no reports of accidents caused by the experimental bus.